


Stars Fated To Align

by Blooming_Day



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: A small Lee Taemin cameo, Alien Park Chanyeol, Chanyeol is adorable, Everyone Is Gay, Fluff, Happy Ending, Idol Byun Baekhyun, Light Angst, Light implied homophobia in one scene, M/M, Science Fiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-22
Updated: 2020-10-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:00:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 31,206
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27148390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Blooming_Day/pseuds/Blooming_Day
Summary: Chanyeol had no intention of falling in love. All he came to earth to do was attend a kpop concert. But look at how that turned out.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 45
Kudos: 153
Collections: EXO MONSTERFEST 2020





	Stars Fated To Align

**Author's Note:**

> Hello ^^  
> Participating in Monsterfest was extremely fun and I'm quite happy with how the fic turned out.
> 
> Special thanks to the Mods for their cooperation and to my friends to encouraged me and helped me with this, it would not have been possible without your support!
> 
> Thank you readers for sparing your time to read this little work of mine.
> 
> Happy Reading ><

"Welcome to the Host Centre: Human Division." The android greets as L-1127 steps (floats; Celenoids don't have legs) in front of the host requisition desk. The android in front of him is humanoid, to promote the morphology of the division it is serving in. “How may I be of assistance?” The android asks, curt and to the point. The voice of the android is quintessentially robotic like the ones found on the very planet L-1127 now plans to visit. 

_ Voice _ . L-1127 would have one of those soon too, he thinks. Celenoids, unlike most creatures in the Universe, do not have a voice. They communicate through electromagnetic waves they can generate autonomously.

_ I would like to request for conscious transfer to a human host body. _

L-1127 replies, his antennae twitching in anticipation and euphoria. After two long years of constant planning and missed opportunities, the day is finally here.

"Very well, Sir. Processing your request." The android says, and goes immobile, its internal network filing L-1127's request.

L-1127 thinks about the whole system of host body providing centres and the brilliance of it. He has heard stories about the ancient times before their planet Cerax opted for an authoritative system of governance, when Celenoids had no choice in the planet they chose for their next travel or the host body they needed for it. Back then, Celenoids would accept whichever host body they could find and head to the respective planets.

The government had truly done wonders to the system. Not only were Celenoids now able to select a host of their desire, but it was also easier to keep records of all the occupied and inventoried host bodies to make sure that none of the Celenoids committed the ultimate crime. Settlement.

Celenoids were travelers. It was in their very nature to adapt themselves into host bodies and travel to various planets. Travel but never settle. Because settlement was dishonourable, a disgrace to their wanderlustful calling. A Celenoid is taught since birth that they have been given the gift of immortality to travel and learn. And choosing to reject this gift- to stay in a host body long enough to fall prey of it's vulnerabilities is nothing short of appalling.

"Your request has been processed. L-1127 has been granted the permission for conscious transfer to a human body." The android speaks again, bringing L-1127 out of his thoughts. "Do you wish to proceed with the arrangements of conscious transfer now, or may I set an appointment on a future date?"

_ I'd like to finalise the conscious transfer details as early as possible. _

L-1127 replies, to which the android nods in a very human-like manner and repeats it’s earlier statement, "Processing your request.”

While the android is immobile and L-1127 patiently waits for the android to guide him to host selection, which is the next step for conscious transfer, L-1127 thinks about how misfit the name 'conscious transfer’ is, given that it is not just their consciousness that is being moved from one host body to another; it is their entire being that gets transferred. Celenoids do not have fixed bodies per say, they are just a cluster of luminescent cosmic energy that has the power to think, to move, to communicate and to manipulate (along with cute little antennae that don't really serve much of a purpose). 

"The Host Selection Application is now on the screen in front of you. Please fill in the necessary details."

L-1127 studies the vast range of host characteristics provided to him. From his numerous travels before, he is already aware of the whole host selection process so he gets straight to work, filling in the blanks he wishes to through infrared signals that he transmits to manipulate the technology in front of him; it's not like Celenoids have locomotive attachments like humans anyway.

_ Nationality: Korean.  _ Since he wants to visit Korea, a host with the Korean nationality would be preferred.

_ Languages Spoken: Korean.  _ Another amazing adaptive ability of Celenoids is their power to absorb the host's cerebral knowledge while their stay in the body. That way, they can easily fit into any community without much suspicion.

L-1127 ponders over whether or not to add Mandarin and English, which he has researched as the global languages of Earth, but quickly dismisses the thought. The more requirements he adds, the harder it'll be to find a suitable host.

_ Physical built: Tall and muscular.  _ Once again, he avoids specifications to keep his range of host choices broad. Besides, tall and muscular was the only thing  _ a certain special someone  _ had said as their ideal type. So, tall and muscular is all he needs.

He doesn't add any further details. He quickly fills up the technical details such as the date of his departure and the location on earth of his host residence.

"Proceeding with the host selection process." The android says. "May I enquire the objective of this visit?"

_ Oh, it's quite an anticipated one. I won tickets to a kpop concert! _

The android stills for a fleeting moment. L-1127 waits. "My system cannot find the accurate category for your objective. I shall term it under miscellaneous." The android finally says.

"This concludes our process, you will be contacted by our division within three business days to finalise the details. We hope you have a safe trip. Thank you for choosing Earth."

L-1127 steps out, elated at his long awaited dream finally coming true. He thinks back upon how it all started.

It was all so a bit of a magical serendipity, really. L-1127 was casually browsing through planets, looking for somewhere peaceful to spend a vacation. After having spent most of his life stationed on different planets to strengthen the roots of Celenoids visiting there, L-1127 had earned enough to take a long work free vacation.

L-1127 was randomly scrolling through the music the different planets had to offer, being a bit of a music enthusiast himself having lived in the host body of a Krezo, creatures that have the ability to bend and manipulate sound vibrations. Suddenly, something on the screen catches his attention. A strange creature dancing to the beat of the music, looking straight into L-1127's soul (cosmic energy, to be morphologically specific). There was something about the way he looked, the way he moved, working the camera like his slave, oozing of suave and charisma, that made L-1127 immediately intrigued about him. He instantly zoomed in on further details about the creature and his planet. The creature was a human, a being of earth, and a renowned name on his planet; Byun Baekhyun, the highest selling soloist of the music genre that was taking over the blue globe rapidly; kpop.

And that was the beginning of L-1127's love for Earth, Kpop, and of course, Byun Baekhyun. Thanks to the advanced technologies of Cerax, leading in all the galaxies known, accessing earth's global computer network called the internet from a planet light years away, was no big deal. Within a span of one earthly month, L-1127 had learnt everything there was to know about this magical creature called Byun Baekhyun.

And since then L-1127 has been searching for every possible opportunity to meet Byun Baekhyun. But buying tickets to the concerts of one of the greatest kpop stars of all times was no joke. He was unsuccessful everytime.

One of the things that L-1127 admired about himself was his perseverance. And it paid him well with time when he finally won tickets to Byun Baekhyun's concert,  _ Lights _ , through an online contest. And not just any tickets; High Touch tickets, from where he'd be able to see his idol up close and if,  _ if  _ he was lucky enough, even get a high five or a handshake. Even the thought made his antennae twitch with excitement. 

_ Byun Baekhyun, here I come. _

***

The white light hits his face with an intensity that feels like dull stabs against his closed eyelids. The talks and noises around him fuse into a numb chorus. He could feel his body; the soft fabrics that draped over his skin, the cold metal against his fingertips.

_ Cold. _

The sensation was foreign. The last time he was able to sense heat, or the lack of it, was centuries ago, and the memory of it was long forgotten.

He tries to move his limbs, only managing a slight jerk of his fingers. He wants to groan, but he has not gained enough control over his body to do so.

"He's waking up!" Someone exclaims, in a language he understands but has never heard before.

He hears movement around him, and his body instinctively moves in defence. He feels his toes mildly curl and his palm doming over the metal surface. His eyes shut close tighter in a struggle against the irritating light falling on his face.

"Move." Someone commands. "Give him some space. We don't want to startle the traveller, he needs time to adjust. Honestly, you all call yourself professionals?" The person chides, evidently in authority.

The chaos around him subdues, and he's thankful for it. Slowly, very slowly he opens his eyes and reflexively closes them at the sudden outburst of brightness. He groans, his own deep baritone vibrations sounding unfamiliar and new.

He pauses all attempts at movement and takes in a deep breath, consciously. He feels his lungs fill up with air, experiencing yet another new sensation for him that his body is well versed with.

He tries opening his eyes again, this time his mind set to remain resilient to the pricks and pokes of the blinding light. His vision focuses and unfocuses for a few times till his blurry vision finally clarifies into a sharp pair of eyes staring right into his.

"The traveller has woken up." The sharp eyed man says. "Sir, I need you to focus on my finger." The man, then, holds up his index finger and slowly moves it to the extreme left and then the extreme right.

"Vision seems normal." The man turns to look at someone, someone who is just a human figure without distinct details in  _ his  _ peripheral vision.

The man then clicks his fingers near  _ his _ left and right ears respectively. "Auditory senses are normal too."

"Can you understand what I'm saying?" The man said looking at  _ him.  _ He nods. "Do you know your name?"

"Park Chanyeol." The words leave his mouth, before his brain can register, almost like a reflex. Chanyeol's eyes widen, shocked at his own voice is husky and deep and completely unfamiliar to him, other than the hint of the deepness he had heard in his groan earlier.

The sharp eyed man turns to look at someone and extends his hand, asking for something. This time, Chanyeol's eyes follow the man's gaze and his vision lands on a nervous, fidgety girl, who looks like the sharp eyed man's subordinate, rushing to hand him a file.

"Can you tell me your birth date, Chanyeol?" The man asks Chanyeol with a warm smile, an expression polar opposite of the chilly gaze he had towards his subordinate.

"27th November, 1992."

"And your hometown?"

"Seoul."

The man hums in satisfaction. "The memory data is also working normally. Looks like you're fit to proceed for discharge, Mr. Park."

Chanyeol nods, his current situation slowly dawning to him. He had made it, he had made it to earth and was now in a human host body. Gone was L-1127, now he was Chanyeol. Park Chanyeol.

"Excuse me," he speaks, fluent Korean flowing from the tip of his tongue, "I'd like to see my host body before we proceed with the discharge procedure if it's not too much of a hassle."

"Yes, of course." The man says, nodding methodically. He turns to his subordinate and glares at her. "Why are you still standing there? You heard him, didn't you?"

The harsh tone of his speech makes Chanyeol involuntarily flinch. The subordinate rushes out of the room and the man turns to face Chanyeol. Chanyeol tries to cover up the sour expression on his face but the man's sharp eyes are too quick for him to surpass.

"I'm sorry." He apologises. "Celenoids are altruistic and kind by nature. And you have just attained control of your new host body so negative human emotions will still take some time for you to adjust to. My behaviour towards Ms. Kang might have made you uncomfortable. I apologise for not being considerate enough." The man bows.

"Oh no," Chanyeol rapidly shakes his hands, reassuring the man. "It's okay, Mr-"

"Oh, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Dr. Kim Minseok. I'm not only your conscious transfer receiving doctor, but also your primary emergency guardian."

"It's nice to meet you, Dr. Kim. Please take good care of me." Chanyeol gives the man a polite smile.

The subordinate, Ms. Kang, comes back in, struggling and slightly uncoordinated, as she pushes a huge, full-length mirror in front of her.

"Ah, the mirror is here." Dr. Kim Minseok claps his hands in delight. "This is my favourite part of the job. Go ahead, Mr. Park, please take a look at your new body."

Chanyeol gets up from the cold metal bed, wobbly on his knees. Even though his mind is implicitly familiar with the mechanism of a human body, his explicit Celenoid mind still finds his control over the body foreign and is hesitant about any kind of movement.

With laboured heavy steps, he reaches the mirror.

The body of Park Chanyeol is exactly how he wanted it. A good six-feet-something tall with gymed up bulky muscles on his arms complementing his broad shoulders. He had expected that, for it was what he had asked.

But the gasp comes out when he finally sees his face. Park Chanyeol has the prettiest pair of eyes he has ever seen. Huge and expressive, and swimming with emotions that the man himself cannot fathom.

"I'm beautiful." He whispers, his hands touching his face. He hears chuckles behind him and sharply turns around. And for the first time he realises, the room is rather crowded. There are a handful of people here, other than himself, Dr. Kim and Ms. Kang, all wearing a similar set of light sea green scrubs. He also notices that the room he is in is exceptionally large, white and sterile-looking, oozing a medical care unit aura.

Dr. Kim clears his throat, drawing Chanyeol's attention away from the others, who were now looking at their feet or pretending to get back at their work, embarrassed of having been caught chuckling.

"Your host body is indeed an impeccable one, Mr. Park. Handsome and healthy." He says, giving the workers a bashful death glare. "Excellent choice, I must say."

Chanyeol smiles, "Yeah, I hope he notices me because of this body. It's exactly his type."

"Whose, may I ask?" Dr. Kim hesitates, perhaps too conscious about crossing the line of professionalism and offending Chanyeol.

"Oh, Byun Baekhyun. You might have heard of him? I came to earth just to attend his concert." Chanyeol says excitedly, his eyes wide and sparkly.

"Ahh, yes yes. Byun Baekhyun! Of course, I've heard of him!" Dr. Kim nods in recognition. "I've served as a receiving medical expert here for more years than I can count. Society would have shunned me if I didn't know the nation's sweetheart, Byun Baekhyun, by now."

Chanyeol's eyes widen even more in excitement. "Are you a fan, then?!"

Dr. Kim chuckles. "No, I don't really have much of a life outside work to indulge myself into kpop."

Chanyeol's excitement visibly deflates but he gives a polite smile in response. "Ahh, I see."

He's a little disappointed, but he understands that just because he spent years on Cerax fanboying, doesn't mean that everyone else must be a Baekhyun fanboy too. But it would have been like to find another Kyo-

"I am." A voice says, and Chanyeol turns around to find Ms. Kang smiling at him.

"You are what?" Dr. Kim asks her, eyebrows knit together, perhaps a little irked at Ms. Kang speaking out of place.

"I'm a Baekhyun fan." She says, still looking at Chanyeol, "In fact, I'll be attending the concert too."

"Oh my God! Seriously?!" Chanyeol jumps in excitement, and almost immediately controls himself once he realises that his overexuberant personality is not a fit for his adult human host body. "You're the first Kyoong-L I've ever met. In person, I mean. I have a lot of Kyoong-L mutuals on Twitter. Oh, do you have Twitter Ms. Kang? Give me your handle, I'll follow you. And you're coming to the concert too? Maybe we can-"

His exhilarated rambling is cut short by Dr. Kim clearing his throat. Chanyeol blushes, wondering if he should have specially requested for a child host body to match his personality. But then immediately decides that his current host body was better; not only was Chanyeol gorgeous but an adult body would come in for handy for living alone than a child one.

"I see that you seem to have developed an affinity with my new work assistant. Maybe, I should leave the further procedures to her, if that makes you more comfortable, Mr. Park?"

"Yeah, sure! I'd like that! If it's okay with Ms. Kang?"

"Yes, of course! And please, call me Seulgi, Mr. Park." She smiled.

"Then you should call me Chanyeol,  _ Seulgi. _ " Chanyeol grins right back at her.

"Well then, I'll take my leave, I have other work to attend to. Ms. Kang, I hope you'll take this opportunity well and not give Mr. Park any reason to complain." He gives her a pointed look. Chanyeol couldn't understand the need for Dr. Kim to be so unnecessarily strict with Seulgi but he doesn't say anything, since it's not his place to comment.

"He's not that bad." Seulgi says, almost as if she read Chanyeol's mind. "It's part of his job to be so harsh and stiff with the rest of us or else we'll be slacking off and not learn to do our work properly."

Chanyeol hums, still not quite satisfied with Seulgi's defence for Dr. Kim.

"It's irking you because you're new to this body. Soon you'll understand how lazy the human nature is and the wonders rewards and reinforcements do." Seulgi shakes her head. "Let's continue with the discharge procedure then! Don't worry, even though it's my first time taking full responsibility alone, I'll walk you through it just as smoothly. And in the meantime, we can talk about the concert and discuss our favourite songs?"

"Yes, please! I'd like nothing more! So do you agree with the fan theories that the Candy Music Video is basically Baekhyun being delusional and creating his own world?"

***

Settling on Earth seemed to be easier than Chanyeol had expected it to be, especially with how helpful Seulgi had been about the whole thing. They had gotten closer beyond the traveller-receiver relationship and could be considered friends, or rather fandom friends, in their terms, given how they had bonded over their shared love for Byun Baekhyun.

They decide to go to the concert venue together. Chanyeol had VIP High Touch area tickets which he proudly bragged about in front of Seulgi, who had unfortunately managed to get her hands only on the cheapest gallery tickets available.

Chanyeol being the soft hearted person he was, had offered to accompany Seulgi in the gallery but Seulgi had vehemently denied saying that Chanyeol shouldn't miss this opportunity.

The three days between his arrival and the concert went in a blur as Seulgi helped him settle into the apartment the Resources Agency: Division Earth had allotted for him and guided him through the mass mess of paperwork work access his Earth bank account and other identifications that he needed to pose as a residential citizen of Seoul, Korea. She suggested a list on earth experiences to have during his stay calling it his 'Bucket List'.

Chanyeol knew what the concept of Bucket List meant and couldn't help but laugh at how mundane his was compared to the crazy things that usually made to the list. His bucket was a compilation of the most banal human activities like ordering breakfast at a bakery, helping a stranger with directions, and things like that.

Currently he was standing in a long queue outside the concert venue with Seulgi with light trembles and goosebumps, a visible by product of his excitement.

"Chanyeol, calm down!" Seulgi chides. "You're creeping out the people around us."

"What did I even do?" Chanyeol pouts.

"You're jumping like a giant gorilla, wearing black head to toe. Of course the girls around you are scared." Seulgi glares at him, to which Chanyeol's pout intensifies.

"It's not my fault I'm wearing all black! The dress code for today is black!" He protests.

"Yes, well, but you could have worn something other than a plain t-shirt, sweatpants and a hoodie." Seulgi shakes her head in disapproval. She's wearing a strapless sweetheart neckline velvet black top with latex black pants and high heeled boots.

Together the duo seem oddly misfit with each other, one considerably underdressed for the occasion while the other is arguably overdressed, and that makes them the target of quite a number of stares. Chanyeol couldn't care less but Seulgi is more than eager to dump the blame on her gullible friend.

Chanyeol makes a point to offer his hoodie to Seulgi since it's quite chilly outside the venue, the late evening breeze hitting like stings. Seulgi refuses with a careless wave, explaining to Chanyeol how fashion triumphs comfort, a concept Chanyeol finds foreign to him and also quite impractical.

The queue proceeds forward fatally slow, particularly for someone as impatiently avid as Chanyeol, and it gets more dull when he has to finally depart from Seulgi and push his way through underage fangirls to reach his place in the High Touch Zone.

He takes his time to admire the venue and the stage which was decorated with abstract patterns of light clusters; a perfect stage for Byun Baekhyun,  _ the Prince of Light _ .

He sings along with the crowd, waiting for the concert to start. Proudly waving his Kyoongbong in the air, Chanyeol looks around to see the ocean of cosmic latte and the realisation suddenly hits him. He had really made it. He was here, on earth about to attend a concert of his  _ favourite  _ singer in the whole universe. He felt his eyes water a little and he chuckles to himself, shaking his head at the emotional mess he was.

When the chorus died down as the final verse of  _ Dream  _ ended, Chanyeol takes a moment to sip some water as his throat is dry from all the singing (shouting).

He almost chokes on his water when the lights of the stage stage suddenly brighten and the starting VCR starts playing on the giant screen.

_ It's finally time,  _ he realises.  _ He's coming. _

Soon enough the VCR ends and the crowd starts cheering in a deafening chorus. Chanyeol tiptoes to get a better look of the stage, despite being a front line audience. 

A head pops up from below the stage, and soon the complete figure of a man standing with his back to the audience immerges.

"Are you ready?" A familiar voice shouts and the crowd goes wild. Only then Chanyeol realises the intro music of  _ UN Village  _ has been playing for a while now.

Baekhyun turns and starts singing in his honey voice and Chanyeol is left in a trace. Chanyeol now truly understands why he is called the Prince of Light. Baekhyun just simply shines onstage, like a star. And Chanyeol feels like he can just extend his hand to touch this star, but the farther he goes, the more he realised how distant this star is. Baekhyun is so close and yet so far that all Chanyeol can do is watch; watch Baekhyun move as gracefully as a snow storm while singing explosively like a hurricane.

There's something about Baekhyun, about his every moment, every expression that traps people in an enchantment; the allure of Byun Baekhyun.

Chanyeol finds himself moving along with the beats, waving his hands when Baekhyun asks the crowd to, swaying his Kyoongbong to the rhythm and screaming his lungs out everytime Baekhyun winked or smirked or did anything more than just existing. Chanyeol does everything you'd expect one to do in a concert but he feels as if he has no control over his body. Everything he does is just following the wave of the crowd because he lost his ability to form coherent thoughts the moment Baekhyun stepped on the stage. He's entrapped in the presence of Baekhyun; seeing him, hearing him, feeling his aura in the air around him. He's so consumed in Baekhyun that everything else feels like a blur.

The concert passes painfully slowly and in the blink of an eye at the same time. Chanyeol thoroughly enjoys himself although to his dismay Baekhyun never comes near his zone let alone have one-to-one interactions with Chanyeol.

Chanyeol is about to curse fate for being too cruel on him when the last song of the night starts playing and  _ finally  _ Baekhyun slowly makes his way towards Chanyeol's section.

Chanyeol starts fidgeting in anticipation. The closer Baekhyun gets, the more vividly Chanyeol sees the little details of him.

Baekhyun's little 'Have Courage' tattoo is peeking from his nape. His blonde hair has light brown highlights. His chest heaves up and down with heavy breathing and Chanyeol wonders how is he still so lively and energetic even after such powerful performances.

The music plays as Baekhyun pauses to play rock-paper-scissors with a fan and cutely pouts on losing. He tosses a signed ball towards the lucky fan who screams upon catching it.

Something catches Chanyeol's attention from the corner of his eyes and he turns to see the security telling Baekhyun to quickly high-five a few fans and carry on.

Chanyeol's chest starts bubbling with excitement and his hand seems to raise itself before he can permit it. He tiptoes and tries to reach as high, as close to Baekhyun, as he can, pressing his body against the railing.

As Baekhyun gets closer, Chanyeol's heartbeats keep getting more and more rapid. He can feel himself sweat and prays that his hand is not sweaty enough to disgust Baekhyun  _ if  _ he ends up being lucky enough to get a high-five.

When Baekhyun gets right in front of him, Chanyeol stills. His mind goes vacant because Baekhyun looks at him and smiles. And damn that gorgeous smile. The soul of Celenoid L-1127 may not understand human beauty that well but the body of Park Chanyeol did. Seeing Baekhyun through the eyes of a human was a revelation for him; an epiphany that hit him like a wave of ocean water splashing across him. His body starts reacting in ways he was yet to understand. He feels his heartbeat speed up and his face heat up. The sudden rush of testosterone is felt everywhere, like his body is on fire.

And L-1127 had read just enough about human physiology to realise he is  _ physically attracted  _ to Baekhyun.

When Baekhyun extends his hand to high-five Chanyeol, Chanyeol's breathing stops. The soft touch of Baekhyun's skin across his tingles and unexpectedly Baekhyun's fingers curl around his. What was supposed to be a light touch and leave turns into a lingering sensation as Baekhyun holds Chanyeol's hand and continues to smile at him. Despite every second of their contact feeling hours long, Chanyeol is too frozen to curl his fingers around Baekhyun's or return Baekhyun's smile. The moment passes and it is only when Baekhyun's hand starts retracting that Chanyeol gets his senses back. His big eyes probably widen even further, looking like saucers because Baekhyun lets out a fond chuckle before giving him a short wave and turning to go back to the centre stage for the closing ment.

To say Chanyeol panics when he realises what had just happened is an understatement. He wants nothing more than to hit himself out of frustration because Baekhyun,  _ the Byun Baekhyun,  _ had held his hand (when he was just supposed to give a high five and leave) and Chanyeol had not even smiled at him, let alone give Baekhyun's hand a small squeeze or any other appreciative gesture. Chanyeol wants the ground to crack open and swallow him because he is  _ embarrassed. _ Too embarrassed to pay attention at Baekhyun's ending ment or the final glance Baekhyun threw in his direction before exiting the stage.

After the concert ended, he meets up with Seulgi and tells her how he embarrassed himself in front of Baekhyun. Seulgi laughs, amused at Chanyeol's constant hair-pulling and facepalms.

"You don't understand. He must have thought I was weird. I was so frozen!" Chanyeol groans. "And it doesn't help that I'm attracted to him."

"Wait, you are? Like in a sexual way?" She raises an eyebrow, while smirking.

Chanyeol narrows his eyes at her, "You're enjoying this way too much, aren't you?"

The night is peacefully cold and Seulgi shivered from the lack of warm clothes. Chanyeol would have normally gloated with a I-told-you-so but he is too engrossed in his own embarrassment to do so. The pair walk through the lonely night holding hands. To anyone else, they may seem like a young couple in love.

"Can you blame me really? You're so cute." Seulgi reaches to ruffle Chanyeol's hair. "You didn't answer the question though. Are you attracted to him?"

“Pretty sure I had a semi hard erection just by looking at him. So, yeah. I’m attracted to him.” Chanyeol says, shaking his head slightly. A car zooms past them, the sudden light making them flinch.

“It’s rare, you know.” Seulgi comments, a little hesitant but curious at the same time.

“Being attracted to someone? I don’t think so, Seul. From what I can see, humans are pretty horny compared to other creatures.” Chanyeol gives a lopsided grin while raising his eyebrows.

"I didn't mean that, dummy. It's rare for us Celenoids to feel the human attraction."

Chanyeol looks at her with his mouth slightly open, shocked, not at the revelation but at Seulgi referring to herself as a Celenoid. In the little time that Chanyeol has known her, she always prefers to refer to herself as a human, as if she has completely adapted to Earth and it's lifestyle.

Chanyeol would have thought it is a by-product of getting habituated to a body if not for having seen and talked more to Dr. Kim during his routine visits to the Traveller Receiving Centre. The striking humanly middle aged man was in his fifteenth year in his human body, an unusually long period for a Celenoid to partain a human host body. Dr. Kim was a professional and disciplined man in general, but Chanyeol could not help but admire his patriotism towards his home planet.

So Seulgi's case was definitely not related to getting habituated with a body she had been using for only five years. She genuinely loved humans and enjoyed being one. Sometimes, it made Chanyeol worry about her impending time of departure.

He had asked Seulgi about it once and had not failed to notice the way her face fell down a little and her voice got low when she told him she was here on a seven year contract and will have to leave in two. It made Chanyeol's heart ache to see his eternally cheerful friend try hard to hide her gloom and put on a false smile but he remained silent. They both knew they were not supposed to feel this way. Seulgi was not supposed to want to stay on earth and Chanyeol was not supposed to sympathise with a Celenoid wanting to  _ settle.  _ So both of them brushed off the topic with pretentious nonchalance.

"Really? I didn't know that." Chanyeol says. "I thought when we take over the host body, we feel everything a normal specimen of the species would feel."

"That's how it works, yes. But with sexual attraction in humans, it gets a little more complicated. Sexual attraction depends on a lot of factors. Some are genetic, some are physiological and some are psychological. And while the physical attributes remain the same for a Celenoid in a host body, the psychological attributes are not because we manipulate them according to our own convenience." Seulgi explains, professionally and eloquently, like the prodigy assistant Transfer Receiver she is. 

"Seul, I appreciate you trying to explain stuff to me but back in Cerax, when I was receiving training for my Earth visit, I skipped on the day we studied all this to watch Baekhyun videos." Chanyeol smiles while shrugging.

"I'm not even surprised." Seulgi sighs. "Okay, so you know how conscious transfer works, right?"

Chanyeol nods. "The basics, yeah. But then again, it varies from species to species depending on the morphology so it's difficult to call anything the basics, really." Seulgi opens her mouth, a frown evident on her face, but Chanyeol cuts her off, chuckling. "I'm just messing with you. I know how conscious transfer in humans works."

"You're so annoying." Seulgi lightly punches his arm. "So basically, you know how Celenoids gain control of the host body right? Since we are almost intangible other than our antennae, we easily latch ourselves to the central controlling system of the body. In case of humans, it's the brain where we latch ourselves. And the brain functions through neuron firings, right? So we take control over the neurons and direct the firing according to our will. Which is why, we do have access to the information stored in the human mind and at the same time, we have full control over the human body."

"Seulgi, I know all this." Chanyeol says and Seulgi gives him a look, clearly not believing him. "What? I do! I used to work at the Traveller Receiving Centre on planet Inés. I received employee of the month  _ fifteen  _ times because of my extensive knowledge on conscious transfer. Just tell me how all this relates to me getting an erection on seeing the sexiest man alive being rare."

Seulgi rolls her eyes. "Well, as Celenoids, we do not have the desire to reproduce in our human bodies, right? Why would we? These host bodies are just a disposable means of mobility for us. An approach to make us blend into the crowd. And reproduction is of no benefit to us since we fulfill it's primary motive on our own."

"And what exactly is the primary motive of reproduction? To produce a mini-me?" Chanyeol asks playfully, although he is intently listening to everything Seulgi is explaining to him.

"That is the proximal causation of reproduction, yes. But the ultimate causation is to store information. Earthly creatures are not immortal. They know they will come to an end at some point of time. So how to store information? Simple. Pass it on. So they reproduce to create cells that contain the same genetic information as them so that when their cells cease to exist, the information will still be retained. With Celenoids, we don't have that conditionality; we are immortal. So our primary motive is to travel far and wide and collect as much information as we can. Reproduction is an unnecessary implication of the human host body to us. So we tend to ignore it, and often, repulse it. Thus, since we tend to ignore the human body's subconscious desire to reproduce, getting sexually attracted to someone is insignificant to us. So, it rarely happens."

"Wow. That's one hell of a lecture I just got on Human and Celenoidal biology." Chanyeol laughs, though clearly nervous.

Seulgi shrugs. "It's my job to know this stuff. We gotta know humans better than humans know themselves if we want to blend in properly."

"So, in your career of five years, how often have you seen such a thing happen?" Chanyeol asks, a little worried, wondering if he had some kind of a crime in Celenoidal Law unknowingly because with Seulgi's explanation, it felt an awfully similar case to desiring to settle.

"If you're worried about there being some kind of law against it, don't worry." As if having read his mind, Seulgi reassures him. "And I've met three people, including you, I think? Or atleast three that I know of. Who finds whom hot is not exactly the kind of conversation I have with my assigned travellers." Seulgi laughs nervously.

"I know you're hiding something." Chanyeol narrows his eyes. "You're doing that thing where you laugh really weirdly when you're trying for me to not find out something."

Seulgi sighs. "You seem to know me a bit too well for someone who only met me days ago."

"We're Celenoids. We observe and infer. Now, spill." Chanyeol smirks.

"Well, one of those three people is well… me. You know, Bae Joohyun right? The other transfer receiving doctor? I have a massive crush on her. And she's  _ so beautiful.  _ The first time she smiled at me, I went to the washroom and cried." Seulgi covers her face in embarrassment.

Chanyeol tries to bite back a smile but fails. "It's cute. Seulgi has a crush." He says in a mocking baby voice.

"Oh, shut up." Seulgi exclaims. "We're here."

Chanyeol didn't even realise when they reached the subway station, he was so engrossed in talking. He looks at his watch and it shows fifteen minutes had passed since he started walking. "So this is where I bid you goodbye. Get home safe."

"Yeah, don't worry. Enjoy your stay at Elysium." Seulgi waves him goodbye and walks into the subway station.

Chanyeol opens his phone's GPS to get directions for Hotel Elysium. After around ten minutes or so of silently walking, he finally reaches the place. Hotel Elysium is the most posh and expensive hotel of the district; grand and ostentatious.

It was Seulgi's idea to add this to his bucket list. A night's stay under the luxury and comfort of a grand seven-star hotel the way a human traveller on Earth would. Chanyeol too was excited to try out the living experience in a 'hotel'; to call in room service for food, dry cleaning, and every little thing he needs.

The doorman wearing a fancy uniform gives Chanyeol a smile as he opens the door for him. On entering, Chanyeol realised how grossly underdressed he is for this chic and classy place. The lobby is huge with a gigantic chandelier hanging from the ceiling and expensive persian rug covering the floor.

Feeling a little self conscious, he makes his way towards the reception where the lady sitting gives him a professional smile.

Check-in isn't much of a hassle. Chanyeol was going to stay in the premium penthouse suite II, which he had already paid for in advance. (More like Seulgi had used his money to pay for him because earthly monetary transactions were still a little difficult for him to understand). The premium penthouse suite II was the most expensive room the hotel had to offer along with premium penthouse suite I, which had already been booked by someone before Chanyeol could get his hands on it. He liked the idea if it though, of not being entirely alone on the top floor of the multi storied hotel.

A staff member offers to guide him to his room but Chanyeol refuses, not wanting to cause additive hassle. He would have also refused the bellboy to carry his luggage since he didn't have anything other than a small backpack with him but he reminds himself that he's here for 'the ultimate hotel experience' and hesitantly hands his backpack to the bellboy. If the bellboy had any comments about the single measly backpack or Chanyeol's appearance, he keeps it to himself. However the expression on his face makes Chanyeol feel uneasy.

After entrusting his luggage to the bellboy, Chanyeol gets on the elevator and presses the penthouse button. He taps his foot while impatiently waiting to reach his room and also amused for getting to ride an elevator for the first time.

The ding of the elevator makes him a little jumpy and when the door opens, Chanyeol peeks out like a little child before getting out himself. The elevator door leads him to a small but fancy hallway, with extravagant wallpaper covering the walls and art pieces used for aesthetics. There is a door on both ends of the hallway and a small sign right in front of him saying Premium Penthouse Suite I to the left and Premium Penthouse Suite II to the right.

Chanyeol makes his way towards his room, on the right. He unlocks the door and leaves it open, hoping to reduce a little effort for the bellboy who'd be bringing his backpack up any moment now, and surveys the room. The place is awfully posh and feels oddly familiar as these are the kinds of glamorous settings the media usually depict; the internet being his only source to know more about earth while he was on his planet. He sits down on the bed, which feels soft and bouncy under him, compelling him to jump and giggle like a child.

He's so engrossed in his own world that he doesn't hear the sound of someone entering the room until a frightfully familiar, outraged voice shouts, "Who the fuck are you and what are you doing in my room?"

Chanyeol's head jerks towards the source of the voice and he gasps on seeing the person in front of him. "Byun Baekhyun?"

There stood Byun Baekhyun, in baggy sweats and makeup removed face, looking enraged beyond words. Chanyeol never knew someone who always looked so soft on camera could give such a deadly glare.

"I asked who are fuck are you?" Baekhyun shouts, rage taking over him completely.

Chanyeol flinches, terrified, because he has never been treated so harshly in his entire time on earth. He opens his mouth but no sound comes out.

"Wait a minute." Baekhyun says, narrowing his eyes and taking a few steps towards Chanyeol who immediately gets off the bed. "I know you. You were at the concert, weren't you?"

Still unable to find his voice, Chanyeol mechanically nods. A part of him wants to squeal in delight that Baekhyun  _ remembers  _ him but that part is buried too deep underneath the tension of the situation.

"What are you doing in my room? You're a  _ sasaeng,  _ aren't you? Get the fuck out of here before I call the police." Baekhyun screams at him, striding forward. Chanyeol freezes, terrified and dumbfounded.

“I-I-” he tries to defend himself but no words come out, his mind cannot process what is happening.

“I’m so sick of you all. Can’t you leave me alone for  _ one single day _ ? This isn’t love, it's a disgusting obsession.” Baekhyun looks at him with such repulsion in his eyes that Chanyeol wants to cry. He came all this way from Cerax to Earth just for this man, the one who was now looking at Chanyeol with such strong hatred as if Chanyeol’s very existence was causing him discomfort. Chanyeol feels like his worst nightmare is coming true.

"I'm not a sasaeng." Chanyeol's voice is low and shaky.

Baekhyun calms down a little upon hearing how terrified Chanyeol sounds. "Look, I won't call the police, okay? Just, just leave and leave  _ me _ alone."

“B-But-” Chanyeol tries to say but Baekhyun raises his hand, stopping him.

“Seriously? You still have something to say for yourself? I'm letting you go only because you look so scared and you're still gonna lie to my face and pretend you're not a sasaeng? I can't believe this." Baekhyun groans in exasperation. "It's because of people like you, that being an idol is so goddamn hard. I'm not some toy of your sick make believe fantasies. I'm an artist and I'd like to have my own life,  _ please. _ "

Chanyeol is still new to the human body and still learning about experiencing the volatile human emotions, so it should come off as no surprise that he starts crying. Chanyeol has never experienced these emotions before. The stings in his heart, the pressure on his throat, the water leaking from his eyes; it's all very overwhelming for him. Celenoids are happy creatures. They rarely feel negative emotions. So the fury that Baekhyun charged at him with and the resulting fear and sadness was too much for Chanyeol to handle. Unable to contain himself anymore, Chanyeol breaks down into sobs. Loud, choked sobs. He sits down on the floor and buries his face between his knees. 

"Uhmm, hey, Mr. Hoodie?" He hears Baekhyun's uneasy, hesitant voice call him. He looks at Baekhyun through his glossy, wet eyes. 

Baekhyun looks like his blood ran cold. He stood there, awkward and uncomfortable, unaware of what to do when there was a grown man crying in front of him. Specially, a grown man  _ he  _ had made cry.

"What?" Chanyeol asks, sniffling and rubbing his nose with the sleeve of his hoodie.

Baekhyun opens his mouth and closes it a few times before frantically looking around. Chanyeol watches him rush over to a nearby table and grab tissues. He hesitantly passes the tissues over to Chanyeol who mumbles a soft thank you before wiping his eyes and nose with them. He's still sniffling and his eyes are filled with tears, but he stops sobbing.

"Better now?" Baekhyun asks awkwardly, scratching the back of his nape. Chanyeol nods, hugging his legs.

"I don't know what to say to you, really. I don't want to make you cry again." Baekhyun sighs.

Chanyeol knows Baekhyun is a kind person in general. Someone who would definitely feel bad for a crying person, even if it was his crazy stalker in his eyes. "I'm sorry." He apologises, avoiding Baekhyun's eyes, "I shouldn't have broken down like this. I'm sorry for making you uncomfortable." He rubs his eyes to remove whatever traces of tears remain. "But I swear, I'm not a sasaeng. I'm your fan, definitely. But I know my boundaries as a fan."

"Then what on earth are you doing in my room?" Baekhyun asks, trying to lower the accusatory tone. Chanyeol wonders if he's being more careful, just to make sure Chanyeol doesn't cry while still being furious at him, or if he is genuinely willing to listen and believe Chanyeol now.

Chanyeol stands up to clarify but before he could begin explaining how it was  _ his  _ room and Baekhyun was the intruder here, a third new voice interrupted them. "Baekhyun?"

The newcomer is none other than Kim Jongdae, Baekhyun's trusted manager and friend. Jongdae stood at the door, leaning in, perhaps debating whether he should enter a stranger's room without permission or not.

"Jongdae? What are you doing, standing there like that? Come in." Baekhyun motions him to come in. "I was going to call you anyway. We seem to have a bit of a… _ situation. _ " He said, discreetly eyeing towards Chanyeol.

"Uhm, okay." Jongdae hesitantly steps in looking at Baekhyun with an odd expression. "What's going on here? Who's this? And why aren't you in your room? I was looking all over for you." Jongdae bombards him with questions, not paying attention to Chanyeol. 

"Good thing that you're here, we need to-" Baekhyun stops, processing what Jongdae had just said. "Wait a second. What do you mean I'm not in my room? We're standing right here, aren't we?" Baekhyun looks at him incredulously, hands folded on his chest and eyebrows creased in confusion.

"Uhm, that's kind of what I've been trying to tell you." Chanyeol murmurs, but loud enough for the two other men in his room to hear while looking down at his fingers, which played with each other.

Jongdae, always having been exceptionally sharp, senses the confusion going on and quickly intervenes. "Baekhyun, you know we booked suite I for you, right?" Baekhyun nods with an 'and what about it?' expression on his face. Sighing, Jongdae continues. "And you realise that this is suite II, right?"

There's a momentary silence as both Jongdae and Chanyeol wait for Baekhyun to react. Chanyeol watches as Baekhyun's face displays a spectrum of emotions as the realisation of the embarrassing blunder he made hits him; confusion, realisation, shock, guilt, embarrassment.

He turns to Chanyeol, face red with embarrassment but before he can say anything, Chanyeol reassures him, "It's okay. There was just a misunderstanding."

"I was so rude to you." Baekhyun shakes his head. "God, I even made you cry. I made my fan cry." He hits his own head, reprimanding himself. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay, really." Chanyeol tries to calm him again. "I should have been more vocal about explaining myself. It's my fault too."

Jongdae's phone buzzes and he excuses himself telling Baekhyun to 'sort out his mess' and come back to his room to discuss important issues.

"You did try, but I didn't even let you speak. God, I must have really overwhelmed you with all the accusations, I'm extremely sorry." Baekhyun apologises again, this time getting on his knees and bowing in proper Korean tradition.

"Oh my God, Baekhyun please get up." Chanyeol immediately bends down to hold Baekhyun by his shoulders and lift him up. On realising he touched Baekhyun without his permission, Chanyeol quickly jerks his hands away and mumbles an apology. Baekhyun shakes his head reassuringly.

"If you're gonna keep being nice, I'll feel worse about the way I behaved with you." Baekhyun says, biting his lips. Chanyeol is proud of his brain for not going haywire then and there. He makes a mental note to fanboy about witnessing  _ the Byun Baekhyun  _ bite his lip later.

"It's really not your fault. I cannot even imagine how it must feel to be exhausted after a day full of hard work and wanting to rest, only to come back to an erratic stranger in your room. Anyone would lose their cool." Chanyeol smiles gently, little dimples peeking through his cheeks.

"Still…" Baekhyun trails off, feeling guilty.

"Okay how about this?" Chanyeol starts, "I can already tell that no matter how much I tell you it's okay, you're not really going to believe me. So why don't you compensate me instead? Hopefully, that'll put you to ease."

"Compensate you?" Baekhyun comtemplates the idea for a while. "That could work, I suppose."

"Great. So why don't you sign me two autographs and call it a night? I'm sure you're super tired." Chanyeol claps his hands cheerfully. No one would believe that this is the same person who was crying his eyes out a while ago, given how jolly he looked now.

"Two autographs?  _ Two autographs? _ " Baekhyun gives him a look. "Might as well have asked me to hum a few lines from  _ Stay Up  _ and call it compensation."

Chanyeol subconsciously pouts. "Is it too much to ask? I'm sorry, that was not my intention."

"Oh my God." Baekhyun facepalms. "What do I do with you, Mr. Hoodie? Are you always this innocent?"

Chanyeol feels blood rush through his face, painting him red. "I don't understand what you mean by that."

Baekhyun lightly chuckles. "Of course you don't. Anyway, Mr. Hoodie, I wanna apologise  _ properly  _ so I'm taking you for lunch tomorrow and I'm not taking no for an answer."

Before Chanyeol can even process, Baekhyun adds, "I didn't even ask you if you'll be here during lunch tomorrow? Otherwise we can go grab something to eat right now."

"It's late." Chanyeol says, automatically and mentally slaps himself for such a bland and negative response. Baekhyun's presence was too intoxicating for him to think straight.

"It's never too late for food." Baekhyun shrugs. "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

For the first time, Chanyeol dares to look,  _ really look,  _ at Baekhyun. So far, he had tried his best not to look at Baekhyun for more than necessary, an attempt to save himself from getting lost in the all consuming aura of Byun Baekhyun. But now that he has dared, he cannot take his eyes off because seeing Baekhyun from close is like looking at a blazing fire, alluring and mesmerising.

The lights bouncing off the chandelier in the room, which was a smaller replica of what Chanyeol saw in the lobby, were falling on Baekhyun's face, making his skin glow. Baekhyun's eyes twinkle, and Chanyeol swears he sees more of the Universe in Baekhyun's eyes than he has in his entire life travelling through space. The little mole above Baekhyun's lip looks so pretty and so perfect that Chanyeol wants to so personally chat with every makeup artist that decided to conceal it with layers of unneeded camouflage. Baekhyun, with his silky blonde hair and pretty long eyelashes, looks like a miracle of the midnight moon.

Chanyeol doesn't realise that he's staring until Baekhyun waves his hand in front of him. "Hello? Earth to Hoodie man?"

With a jolt, Chanyeol breaks out of his trance. "Yeah?"

"Well, if you wanna keep staring at me, I suggest atleast let me look a little more presentable. After concert look isn't exactly my most charismatic point." Chanyeol wanted to die and Baekhyun's amused smile was just killer enough for the job. "Also, if staring at me is what you ultimately desire, then I suggest stare at me over lunch tomorrow, what say? I'll even put an effort to look pretty for you."

The air conditioned room felt rather hot for Chanyeol suddenly, as he stared at Baekhyun blankly.

"I'll take your blank staring as a yes." Baekhyun raises his eyebrows expectantly. Chanyeol manages a single nod. "Alright then. See you tomorrow." Baekhyun waves lightly before walking away.

He stops at the door, and turns once again. "Hey, Mr. Hoodie!" Chanyeol looks at him, with eyes wide. "I never got your name?"

"Baekhyun." Chanyeol says, and realises almost immediately the mortifying mistake he just made. "I mean, Chanyeol. Hi, I'm Park Chanyeol."

Baekhyun looks like he's trying his best to hold back an amused smile. Chanyeol appreciates the effort although it's not exactly successful in trying to sublimate Chanyeol's prayers for the earth to crack open and swallow him alive.

"Nice to meet you, Park Chanyeol. I'm Byun Baekhyun." Baekhyun flashes a charismatic smile but it is the teasing amusement shimmering in his eyes that has Chanyeol enthralled.

"I think we have already established that I know you're Byun Baekhyun." Chanyeol says, with a small sheepish smile.

Baekhyun laughs. To Chanyeol, it's music in the air.

"Alright. I'll take my leave now. See you tomorrow, Chanyeol." He pauses for a moment. "It was nice meeting, despite, you know, the disaster I just made."

"Same here." Chanyeol says, and Baekhyun exits leaving behind a stunned Chanyeol who needs more than one night and half a day to process everything that just happened and prepare himself for lunch with the man he crossed the stars for.

The time after that is spent in either stunned silence, frantic panicking or long exhilarated phone calls with Seulgi that involved excessively speedy talking and intense fangirling and fanboying.

After a restless night, Chanyeol was convinced in the morning that yesterday was some figment of his imagination to manifest his self indulgent desires. But the knock on the door from Jongdae to confirm his lunch 'date' with Baekhyun was a slap of reality on his face that it was indeed true. The rest of the day goes by in more panicking and more phone calls to Seulgi and some last minute shopping as Chanyeol's little backpack, which the bellboy had delivered pretty late last night, did not contain clothes appropriate for meeting Byun Baekhyun over lunch.

And somehow Chanyeol found himself, in front of the fancy restaurant in the hotel, in a brand new set of expensive clothes, while fidgeting like a murder suspect before trail.

A waitress guides him to his table where Baekhyun is already waiting for him, busy with his phone. He definitely did stay true to his words about dolling himself up. His hair is styled upwards, exposing his forehead, and has light makeup on. He's wearing a casual t-shirt with a leather jacket. Sitting by the glass with the filtered sunlight hitting his skin, Baekhyun looks ethereal, like he was right in the middle of a photoshoot.

Baekhyun looks up at the sound of footsteps approaching and the brightest smile spreads across his face. Chanyeol is no longer sure if his heart is still pumping blood into his veins.

Baekhyun gives a short welcoming wave and puts his phone aside. He stands up to greet Chanyeol when they finally reach the table.

"You're early." He says, checking his watch. 

"You're earlier." Chanyeol replies, sitting down. They both smile at each other for a moment, both awkward and unsure of how to continue next.

"Would you like to order now, Sir?" The waitress asks, and Chanyeol mentally thanks her for breaking the awkward silence. He looks up at her, and the lady smiles at him with a glint in her eyes that tells him that she did indeed do it on purpose. 'Thank You' he mouths her, she nods in return.

Baekhyun, oblivious to this little exchange, goes through the menu and places his order. "Chanyeol?" He asks.

Chanyeol, sure that he wouldn't be able to even pronounce half the things in the fancy menu with a golden lining in front of him, simply shrugs and says, "I'll just have whatever you're having."

Baekhyun asks the waitress to double everything and adds an item or two more. The lady gives Chanyeol one last, encouraging smile before walking off.

"So…." Baekhyun trails off, pressing his lips together.

"So…." Chanyeol mimics him. "Did you sleep well last night?"

"Oh yeah, great!" Baekhyun replies, relieved at having something to talk about. "What about you?"

"Slept like a baby." Chanyeol lied smoothly, thinking about how he twisted and turned in his bed all night long from the nervous excitement for this very moment. "Was a little excited, though. Not everyday a person gets to have lunch with Byun Baekhyun."

Baekhyun laughs, "Say that to Jongdae. I swear the guy is sick of seeing my face everyday."

"On the contrary, I think it's because that it is  _ your  _ face he sees everyday and not some other less prettier ones that he has stuck around for so long." Chanyeol says, internally surprised at his own boldness. The hours spent in mental preparation were paying off, it seems.

"Well, I definitely should start stressing him out less or he's gonna dump my ass pretty soon." Baekhyun quips, leaning closer to Chanyeol by resting his face on his palm with his elbow on the table.

"Sounds like a smart plan." Chanyeol nods in agreement. He is palpitating like crazy on the inside and struggling hard to keep a cool attitude on the outside. Suddenly he has a whole new respect for Baekhyun and other celebrities for whom keeping their internal emotions inside is their daily life.

"And I would have followed it thoroughly if only I wasn't as impulsive and reckless as you witnessed in the little fiasco last night." Baekhyun sighs, but in good humour. "I'm really sorry for that, by the way."

"Hey, that little incident scored me a lunch with the most beautiful person I've ever laid my eyes on. So, if anything I should be the one thanking you, really." Chanyeol mentally thanks Seulgi for making him rehearse this exact line over a couple hundred times for it to come out as smoothly as it did. He had made it his mission to look cool to Baekhyun today, making sure his regular overgrown child nature stays away. "And if you must insist on apologies, I'll just ask you to obliviate that memory of me crying from your mind. Not exactly my A-Game when it comes to impressing a cute guy."

Baekhyun grins, "What is it with Kyoong-Ls always being so smooth?"

Though his question is rhetorical, Chanyeol answers anyway, "Well, we learnt from the best."

They are both so immersed into each other that they don't notice the food has arrived till the waitress clears her throat.

"So what do you do for a living, Chanyeol?" Baekhyun casually asks, with his mouth full.

Chanyeol had expected this question. So, he and Seulgi had rehearsed this already. "I'm still a student. Majoring in Biology, actually." He says, calm and confident, with not a speak of dishonesty visible on him.

"Oh really, where?" Baekhyun asks, casually, to keep the conversation going.

"Korea Global University." Chanyeol says. Korea Global University was indeed a registered university that every Celenoid in the host body of a youth said they went to. The Celenoids did have an integrated system in every world they have units in, to make sure that they blend in the crowd of the habited species successfully.

Baekhyun looks up for a moment with pointed eyes. Chanyeol holds his breath, his own lying conscience pricking him and making him feel Baekhyun is suspicious of him.

"Korean Global University? Never heard of that." Before Chanyeol could begin giving a detailed explanation as to how the university was located in a rather secluded area with mostly foreign students studying, Baekhyun shrugs. "But what do I know about Universities and education these days? I'm too busy to keep track of anything other than the latest choreos I need to learn."

On the mention of choreography, Chanyeol's inner fanboy forgets everything else and asks excitedly. "Is it true what people say? That you see a choreography once and remember it all?"

"Well, sort of, I guess? But, of course that's not how it always goes. It took me ages to learn the  _ Psycho  _ choreography."

The mention of  _ Psycho  _ only excites Chanyeol further. " _ Psycho  _ is one of your best stages in my opinion. Actually, all your stages are the best stages. You just have his amazing stage presence. And your voice! Oh my God, you have such a beautiful voice. You're so talented-" Chanyeol rambles enthusiastically, completely shedding the skin of the cool, suave attitude that he and Seulgi had decided and rehearsed last night to show to Baekhyun.

Baekhyun laughs, cutting him off. "You're so cute."

Chanyeol immediately shuts up and blushes. "Sorry." He says, sheepishly. "I just got a little too excited."

"It was nice. You're adorable when you act like a little puppy like that." Baekhyun says as he stuffs a piece of meat in his mouth. The way Baekhyun speaks is so casual that Chanyeol wonders if this is the kind of conversation Baekhyun has with a regular fan, something that he has probably done more times than he can remember, something that meant nothing more than a smile he'd give to a random passerby. But to Chanyeol, Baekhyun's words were setting his body on fire.

"Time for Mongryong to pack his bags." Chanyeol murmurs, low yet miraculously reaching Baekhyun's ears.

Baekhyun's boisterous laughter in reaction is loud enough to draw more than a few eyes to their table and Chanyeol uncomfortably cowers in the sudden attention. He doesn't find his joke  _ that  _ funny and wonders about what kind of sense of humour Baekhyun has. Or whether, constant seasoning through variety show appearances has made him this way; too loud at the most minimal things.

"Mongryong is irreplaceable, sorry. But I could take you in as a special pet." Baekhyun smirks, suggestively.

"I don't think I'm the type to share my master." Chanyeol says, in his head, imagining what it must be like to be Baekhyun's pet puppy. Maybe, he could convince the officials at the Host Centre to try making animal host bodies and Chanyeol could be an early volunteer.

Baekhyun looks at him with a strange look on his face that Chanyeol doesn't understand, "What?" He asks, wondering if he embarrassingly has food smudged on his face or stuck in his teeth.

"Nothing. It's just been a while since I've met someone like you." The dreamy look in Baekhyun's eyes makes Chanyeol curious. He wonders what's making Baekhyun feel nostalgic but he knows it's not his place to ask.

"What do you mean by that?" Chanyeol asks, his lips curving downwards cutely and his eyebrows knitting together. 

"Uhm… nothing in particular. Just that you're so innocent." Baekhyun coos. "You're like this pure, adorable little thing and I wanna keep you in my pocket."

Chanyeol pouts. He looks down at his food and mutters, "I'm not innocent. And I'm taller than you." Baekhyun shakes his head slightly biting back a smile.

They both silently eat for a while. Every now and then, Chanyeol feels oddly uncomfortable, like someone is intensely staring at him but whenever he looks around, he finds everyone minding their own business other than the occasional sneaky glances aimed at Baekhyun. Chanyeol shakes his uneasiness away, thinking that it's just his nerves acting up since he's sitting with the nation's favourite idol.

"So, did you enjoy the concert yesterday?" Baekhyun suddenly asks. Chanyeol, distracted in his own thoughts, misses the question.

"What?"

"Did you enjoy the concert? Yesterday? I remember you being there. High touch area." Baekhyun gazes into blankness, trying to recall.

"You really do have a good memory." Chanyeol notes, in awe over how he's getting to witness the little trivias he had only read about now in person. "And I had the time of my life at the concert. It was also my first kpop concert!"  _ And my last too _ . 

"Really? Well I'm glad I was your first." Baekhyun has that suggestive smile again that Chanyeol cannot decipher.

"Did you come alone? People mostly go to concerts in groups." Baekhyun asks, sipping wipe like he's filming for a glassware commercial.

"I was supposed to be going alone but ended up getting company, luckily." Chanyeol chirps, thinking about how the stars had destined him to cross paths with his soul sister, Seulgi.

"Really?" Baekhyun leans in, more interested than Chanyeol had expected him to be. "Is there a pretty girlfriend to accompany you to kpop cons?"

Chanyeol chokes on his food, coughing loudly while struggling to breathe. Baekhyun hands him a glass of water, more amused than concerned.

_ Click. _

"You alright?" Baekhyun asks but Chanyeol's attention is elsewhere.

"Did you hear that?!" Still not completely having recovered from the choking incident, Chanyeol's voice is hoarse and his eyes are wide with prominent red veins, making him look bewildered.

Baekhyun flinches and moves away from Chanyeol. "Hear what? I only heard you coughing. And you look a little shaken right now. Chanyeol, are you sure you're okay?"

Chanyeol shakes his head. He must have imagined it. "Yeah, I'm… ugh… fine, don't worry."

He drinks water once again, calming himself down. "And about what you asked earlier. I went with a friend, not a girlfriend." Even in the faint reflection of himself in the glass of water in front of him, Chanyeol can see how his face is turning a shade deeper of scarlet with every passing second.

"Why? Your girlfriend's not a fan of me? She prefers Jieun's music over mine?" Baekhyun is clearly simply teasing at this point, but Chanyeol still finds himself stuttering.

"N-No. What I meant was, I d-don't have a g-girlfriend."

"Well, never say never." Baekhyun takes another sip from his wine.

"Actually," Chanyeol says, avoiding Baekhyun's eyes and face burning red, "I think I prefer men."

"Interesting." Is all Baekhyun says in reply, his face not betraying any emotions that are running through his mind. "Tell me more about your friend. Are they a Kyoong-L, or did you just drag them along?"

"Oh, she's a Kyoong-L! She has all your albums. She's the one I go to when I need to talk about how much I love you, and she-" Chanyeol shoots up excitedly but on realising that he had just told Baekhyun that he loved him, he shrinks down again. Before, if he had ever gotten an opportunity to tell Byun Baekhyun that Chanyeol loved him, he would have cheerfully professed his love for the man and the music he makes. But now, with Baekhyun sitting in front of him and looking at him with those mysteriously tantalizing eyes, those words held a different meaning. And even though Chanyeol was still struggling to understand what, saying them out loud made his stomach do summersaults.

"She's a big fan, I mean. And yeah, she's great. Remember when I asked for two autographs? One was for her."

"That reminds me," Baekhyun suddenly sits up straight and grabs two  _ Delight  _ albums from the seat next to him. "There. Two autographed albums. Just for you."

Chanyeol gasps aloud. "Oh my God. Baekhyun, thank you! I cannot believe this. Signed  _ Delight _ albums!!! I've always wanted one of my own." Chanyeol looks at the albums like a little girl looks at diamond studded tiaras.

"You're more excited about the albums than you are about me. I don't know if I should be happy that music is that good or offended that I'm not charming enough." Baekhyun pouts and folds his hands, pretending to be annoyed.

"That's not what I meant. I-I-" Chanyeol frantically waves his hands and tries to explain himself.

Baekhyun laughs, "Relax, I'm just kidding. Now does this friend of yours have a name or do I just sign it as Chanyeol's friend? And don't say Baekhyun this time."

Chanyeol blushes. "Seulgi. Kang Seulgi."

Baekhyun signs the album while snickering, laughing at some private joke. Chanyeol quietly eats, observing him.

"There you go." Baekhyun says in a singsong voice. He looks up at Chanyeol and smiles in a way that makes Chanyeol believe that God's work supports favouritism.

But that smile disappears. Chanyeol is about to panic when Baekhyun says, "You have something on your face."

Chanyeol starts rubbing his hand over his face, and Baekhyun shakes his head, "You're making it worse. Here let me do it."

"No." Chanyeol immediately refuses and Baekhyun stops on his tracks. The hurt in his eyes is momentary but evident. "I mean, you don't have to. I wouldn't want someone to see us and get the wrong assumption. You're a celebrity and these things can complicate matters for you and I don't want that."

Baekhyun nods understandingly, "Thank you, Chanyeol. I really appreciate your concern. But really it's not a problem really, don't worry about it." With a dazzling smile, Baekhyun reaches forward. His smooth, slender fingers brush against Chanyeol's skin in a soft, soothing touch.

_ Click. Click. Click. _

Chanyeol immediately removes Baekhyun's hand. Baekhyun looks surprised at the sudden harshness but before he can enquire what's wrong, Chanyeol starts speaking. "Baekhyun I swear, something's wrong. Someone is taking pictures of you."

Baekhyun dismisses it with a laugh. "This is one of the costliest places in the city, Chanyeol. They have security against those things, don't worry about it."

"Shouldn't he, Baekhyun?" Jongdae's angry voice interrupts. Baekhyun's eyes immediately jerk towards the source, behind Chanyeol. Chanyeol turns to see Jongdae approach them.

"What are you doing here, Dae?" Baekhyun asks, confused and annoyed.

"My job. Stopping you from ruining your career over your stupid ego. And saving him from you, because you're a jerk for doing this to your fan." Jongdae's words are hushed to avoid attention but his tone is sharp and criticising.

"I have no idea what you're talking about Jongdae, but if you're pissed about last night. Can we  _ please _ not discuss it in front of my date?"

Chanyeol's eyes widen at the word 'date'. He thought Jongdae was only joking when he had said that to him. He starts analysing and over analyzing everything. Was this really a date? There's a fancy restaurant, wine and a lot of subtle and direct flirting. Why would Baekhyun go on a date with someone he doesn't know? Chanyeol couldn't deny he was good looking and a date never really meant anything serious. So he really was on a date with the Byun Baekhyun?

"Look at him, Baek. Do you really think he deserves this?" Jongdae softens, looking at Chanyeol.

"Deserve what? What's going on?" Chanyeol asks, looking back and forth between Jongdae and Baekhyun.

"This." Jongdae says and strides over to a table nearby. He says something to the man, sitting there and the man sighs. He brings out a camera from under the table and hands it over to Jongdae. While Jongdae deletes the pictures taken, Chanyeol looks over at Baekhyun, who is staring at the exchange with fists clenched and jaw hardened. Finally, Jongdae hands the man an envelope, which Chanyeol presumes is full of cash, and comes back.

"I didn't know, Jongdae." Baekhyun says quietly.

"Sure as hell, you didn't!" Jongdae scoffs. "You think I'm an idiot? I've been your manager for a long time Byun Baekhyun and your friend for even longer. I  _ know  _ you."

"It's all a coincidence, Jongdae, believe me. I wouldn't do this to Chanyeol, he's my fan." Baekhyun tries to defend himself again.

"Do what? What is happening? Will someone tell me anything?" Chanyeol demands but is ignored by both of them.

"Even I thought you wouldn't stoop so low because you love your fans more than anything else. But you're asking me to believe this is all a coincidence? Last night, the company gave you an ultimatum to get your act together and what do you say? 'If they want to hide the fact that I'm gay, how about I announce it to the world myself? A dating scandal should do it, right?' Those were your exact words, Baekhyun. Your _exact_ words. And you're really telling me that the way everything was playing out right before I interrupted is all a big bloody coincidence, I'm sorry Baekhyun but _I don't believe you_." After his angry outburst, Jongdae immediately scans the room to check whether he had drawn unwanted attention or not.

"Chanyeol- Mr. Park, I think it's best for you to leave, right now. I apologise for the mess Baekhyun caused."

Chanyeol quietly gets up and exits. He hopes for Baekhyun to call him or follow after him to explain everything, to tell him that this was all a big misunderstanding, but Baekhyun doesn't.

It all makes sense; the flirting, the smiles, the touches. But something in Chanyeol's heart doesn't want to believe it. Baekhyun isn't like that. Baekhyun  _ couldn't  _ be like that. But Jongdae had no reason to lie, and Baekhyun had made no attempts to explain himself.

Chanyeol's eyes watered, but he held back his tears. He's not gonna cry over Byun Baekhyun again, not if there was even a slightest possibility of Baekhyun being an A-Grade douche. Maybe, visiting earth was a bad idea after all.

***

Compartmentalise. Distract. Forget.

Chanyeol tries to ignore the hole the papers in his pocket are burning as he walks on the polished marble floors, every once in a while taking a glance at his reflection in the glass windows.

Chanyeol is still not habituated to his dapper looks. So everytime a head turns to linger on him a little longer than normal, Chanyeol gets conscious, wondering if there's something wrong with his appearance.

His phone rings and he chooses to ignore it, already predicting the conversation that would follow if he does receive the call.

Seulgi would ask him to stop thinking and sign the papers. And Chanyeol would reply with a 'I need a little more time', which would ultimately upset Seulgi and she would say, 'Fine, who am I to force you anyway?' and that would be the end of the conversation because as much as Chanyeol would want to tell her she means so much to him, something is still stopping him from signing those papers.

The said papers in question are a five paged application for Chanyeol to extend his trip on earth. Since Chanyeol had come to earth solely with the purpose of attending the concert, he was here on Earth's 10-Day Trail policy, where a Celenoid visits Earth for only ten days to determine whether they would like to choose Earth as a place for further habitation. It seemed to fit his agendas then, have a quick trip and go back to Cerax, hoping to plan his next planet to travel. But now, he had made a friend, a friend who desperately wanted Chanyeol to stay with her. And Chanyeol wanted to too, but the recent events made him slightly hesitant.

As if on cue, he passes a shop with a giant picture of Baekhyun on their display. Chanyeol shakes his head. The whole point of his trip to the mall was to  _ not  _ think about a certain blonde with an angelic smile who may or may not have tried to use Chanyeol for his own selfish agendas. Well, that's not the whole point of coming to the mall, Chanyeol wanted to tick shopping off his bucket list and also buy something to coax Seulgi into forgiving him, whenever he finally brings himself to sign the papers. It's killing three birds with one stone, but the biggest bird still remains to be forgetting about Byun Baekhyun.

Ever since the incident two days ago, Chanyeol had avoided any and every reminder of Baekhyun around him. He had narrated the series of incidents to Seulgi, who had dutifully called Baekhyun 'a son of a witch' (she had wanted to use another word but decided that Chanyeol's ears were too innocent for that) and muttered a 'I guess we really don't know what our idols are in real life' under her breath. A part of Chanyeol wanted to argue that Baekhyun wasn't like that, but with every evidence pointing otherwise, he couldn't. And he hated it. He hated himself for still being so naive, for still  _ wanting  _ to defend Baekhyun. For still wanting Baekhyun.

Chanyeol shakes his head as an attempt to brush the thoughts relating to Baekhyun under the rugs and walks past the two dimensional Baekhyun staring at him.

His boots make slight thuds against the marble floor but the sound is drowned in the sweet chaos around him. People hurled past him unaware that the man they found nothing beyond ordinary other than his head turner looks, was what they would, in their colloquial terms, call an alien; a monster; an aberration to human nature and its principles.

Chanyeol wonders what would Baekhyun think if he ever found out that Chanyeol was a Celenoid. He sighs to himself, displeased at his mind mentioning the forbidden name again. Baekhyun wouldn't care, he thinks. Because Chanyeol was too insignificant for him to care. Even if everything was a cruel play of fate, just a big misunderstanding, Chanyeol was still just a momentary breeze to brush through Baekhyun's life.

A little girl approaching from the other side, starts tugging her mother's coat the moment her eyes lay on Chanyeol. A continual effort on her part succeeds in garnering her mother's attention. The girl removes the thumb she has been sucking to point at Chanyeol and exclaims, "Santa's friend! Santa's friend."

Chanyeol smiles endearingly, he bends down to reach her and says, "I believe the term you're looking for is an elf, little one."

"Hehe, yes that! I know you're that! You have the ears." The girl immediately grabs Chanyeol's ears and pulls, causing the latter to flinch in pain. Her mother's parental instinct immediately gets triggered and she picks up her daughter, profusely apologising to Chanyeol.

Chanyeol waves in dismissal, claiming no harm was done and cooing at the jolly and bright little child. After a beatific greeting, they part ways and Chanyeol is left with a heart full of strange wonder for this planet and its people. His mind drifts to what it must be like to have a child of his own, a little being with his big wide eyes and pointy ears. Someone to love and nurture throughout his life.

Chanyeol's heart aches with a longing too scandalous for him to acknowledge. He wants to shy away from his the voices in his head; his Celenoid at a rift with his  _ human _ .

A part of him  _ knows _ that the real reason he is dithering over extending his stay on earth is the way this planet makes him feel. Unwelcome thoughts tantalise him with a life he knows he's forbidden from desiring. He's spent nights thinking about what it must be to have a constant in life, someone to love and be loved by throughout his existence. As a Celenoid who never stays too long at a place, he has never had such a connection in his life. He meets people, even gets emotionally attached to them, but when the time comes, he bids them goodbye and moves on with his endless journey, never regretting, never questioning, because it was a fate he had accepted- he had thought he loved.

But Earth, it's emotions, and the flashes of a life with soft touches, honey voiced laughs, and burning feelings, deter him from his path.

Chanyeol exhales deeply, his sordid thoughts screaming so loud that it's getting harder with the passing of every minute to ignore them.

The bright lights of the building are causing a dull ache to his eyes and Chanyeol wonders whether his lack of sleep for the past two nights is a contributing factor or not. Would it be too pretentious for him to wear sunglasses indoors?

His phone buzzes once again, and Chanyeol is reminded that one of his primary motives to visit the mall is to buy a cajoling gift for Seulgi.

He remembers Seulgi to be exceptionally fond of Burberry and decides to best buy her something from there (in case if she is displeased with Chanyeol's horrendous fashion senses, at least she'd be pleased with his choice of brand).

Asking a woman for directions, while remaining completely oblivious to her attempts to flirt, Chanyeol heads towards the escalator.

While patiently waiting on the escalator, Chanyeol hums to the dim irritatingly familiar melody playing in the background. When he finally reaches the chorus, he realises that the song is Suzy's 'Pretend'. A sudden reminder of her collab with Baekhyun on  _ Dream  _ slips through the walls of Chanyeol's mind. Somehow, despite his best efforts,  _ everything  _ reminds him of Baekhyun.

The Burberry store stood tall and prideful, with silver glass doors and mannequins draped in luxury on display, and a  _ Closed  _ sign on the entrance. Chanyeol groans, cursing at his misfortune. He was about to turn and leave when a particular item caught his attention. It was a simple shirt dress, with black and grey checks running over a white base and an elegant black border to give a basic but classy finish.

The dress was nothing out of the ordinary but Chanyeol found it to be perfect for Seulgi. He peers through the glass windows of the store to see the inside to be fully lit and people rushing around.

He decides to knock the window, making heads turn his way. With a sheepish smile, he waits as a lady, probably a sales assistant, comes out to talk to him. She has sharp, intimidating eyes and is dressed so elegantly that she radiates a strong professional aura with her tight black blazer dress and pointy black heels. But her smile is kind and welcoming, and Chanyeol feels at ease.

"How may I help you?" She asks, once she's outside. Chanyeol notices that the people inside are back at their work, not sparing them any more attention.

"Sorry to disturb you, but I really need to buy this dress." He points at the mannequin. "At what time will your store open today? Or is it possible to somehow make a transaction now?"

"Any purchase right now would not be possible. I apologise for the inconvenience." The lady bows, apologetically.

"I see. Will the store open later today? I can drop by in the evening if that is possible."

"Yes! The store will be open to the public in two hour or so. We are closed right now as we have a VIP customer inside. Once they leave, we shall open the doors again." She explains.

"Ah, okay. Thank you for your help." Chanyeol is about to turn and leave when someone bumps into his back.

"Sorry, I wasn't looking." A vaguely familiar voice apologised, the tone mechanic and distracted.

"No it's okay." Chanyeol turns around. "Jongdae?"

Jongdae, too engrossed in his phone, looks up at the mention of his name. It has barely been a couple of days since Chanyeol has last seen the man but he can identify the distinct changes in Jongdae's appearance. He looks particularly exhausted, stress lines and sleepless circles evident on his face. "Chanyeol? Park Chanyeol?" He says with eyes wide and a hint of delight at the verge of dawning upon his face.

"Yeah, hi." Chanyeol says, suddenly shy. He has no bitterness towards Jongdae, just an awkward sheet of discomfort hanging in between. "Nice to see you again."

Jongdae reaches to grab his hand. "I have been looking  _ everywhere _ for you. I even got your number from the hotel and called you a few times but you never picked up."

Chanyeol never bothers picking up calls from unknown numbers, since he has no one other than Seulgi, Dr. Kim and the landline of the Traveller Receiving Centre. "Oh, sorry. I must have missed it." He lies.

"No worries. You're here now. I really need to apologise to you for the way things ended the last time." Jongdae says, his voice soft and honest.

"It's okay. Whatever happened, happened. It was not your fault." Chanyeol shrugs, a sting pricking his heart.

"No, there's some things you should know. And I- it's better if you hear it all directly from him. He wants to explain things himself."

Something in Chanyeol shifts.  _ He  _ is here, and he wants to talk. Chanyeol's knees feel weak and his head gets scrambled with screaming questions that he doesn't voice. Why does Baekhyun want to see him? To tell it was all a misunderstanding? To apologise for using him? To tell him to keep his mouth shut about it?

A plethora of possibilities cloud him, he nods without his mind registering his action and before he knows it, Jongdae is ushering him to enter the Burberry store.

He passes through a hazed spectrum of coloured clothes that he cannot play attention to, his mind boggling with the anticipation of seeing Baekhyun again.

He notices a commotion of people near a sofa and his eyes try to narrow at its source. Surrounded by a dozen shop employees fuzzing over him is Byun Baekhyun, looking as beautiful as an ocean pearl. He has dyed his blonde hair platinum now, looking like a sinister siren that sang songs of seduction. The platinum hair blends glamorously with his porcelain skin, giving him an aura of ascendancy, being beautiful beyond the barriers of what regular humans looked like. Baekhyun looks, in the true sense of the word,  _ ethereal,  _ so exquisite and elegant, that Chanyeol could write poetry and compose sonnets day and night but would still fall short in describing his beauty.

Chanyeol stands frozen, breath hitched and throat dry, much like the first time he had seen Baekhyun in his skin.

"Baekhyun, look whom I finally found." Jongdae announces but Chanyeol doesn't care to listen. He cannot. Not when Baekhyun was in front of him zoning out of the flattering conversations, mindlessly nodding to acknowledge the admiration he's receiving.

Upon hearing Jongdae's voice, Baekhyun turns, casually and uninterested. And then he sees Chanyeol.

Their eyes meet.

The fireworks that ablaze in Chanyeol's heart could rival the glow in Baekhyun's eyes.

"Chanyeol." He says, too loud to be a whisper but too fragile to be called anything but. "Chanyeol." He repeats, breathless.

"Baekhyun." Chanyeol fears his voice will bare his clandestine desires.

"I've been looking everywhere for you." Baekhyun says, unsure and hesitant. It's odd to see the idol who's always oozing a dominating confidence questioning his own words carefully. "I thought you left Seoul. I thought I'd never see you again."

Chanyeol wanted to ask why? Why did he care? But Chanyeol knew the heaviness of the questions were not meant for the ears of the people surrounding them.

"I-I live in Seoul." He states, unsure of what else he could have replied with.

"Oh." A mild shock passes over Baekhyun's face. "I thought- Why were you staying at the hotel then?"

Chanyeol gulps. "I just wanted to experience the place, that's all." He shrugged. He may seem strange to Baekhyun, a man with a home in Seoul who still lived at a hotel. But he convinced himself that Baekhyun finding him odd and quirky was still better than the alternates.

"Chanyeol about what happened-" Baekhyun begins, restless, as if on the edge to get a weight off his chest but Jongdae clears his throat, interrupting them.

"Here might not be the best place to have this conversation." He says, eyeing the employees who had been intently witnessing the exchange so far. Under Jongdae's scrutinizing gaze, the workers all look away and get back to their work.

"Right." Baekhyun bites his lip. "Will you be willing to meet me again Chanyeol?" His brown droopy eyes look up so expectantly, with hope hiding behind the thin veil of fear of rejection, that Chanyeol knew he was powerless against this man.

He nods, words failing him like they always do Baekhyun is involved.

"Thank you." Baekhyun says, "You won't regret giving me this chance."

Chanyeol wants to laugh. Give him a chance? Who was Chanyeol to give him a chance when Byun Baekhyun was the one tightly gripping the reign of Chanyeol's heart?

"I'll explain everything, I promise." Baekhyun smiles a smile that could bring hope in the fields of war.

There's a pause for a moment. Chanyeol wonders if he should say something to fill the awkward blanks but Baekhyun beats him to it. "Hand me your phone." Baekhyun extends his hand.

Chanyeol doesn't know why Baekhyun would ask for it, Chanyeol doesn't ask why either. He obediently passes his phone to Baekhyun without a further word and watches as Baekhyun types something in it.

"Here." Baekhyun returns it. "I've saved my phone number. I'll text you when I can make time in my schedule for us to meet. You'll… be here, right?"

The unsigned papers in Chanyeol's pocket feel heavy. "Yeah, I'll see you then."

Maybe it was time to sign the papers, after all.

***

The people at the Traveller Receiving Centre turn heads as Seulgi drags Chanyeol by his hand. Chanyeol, embarrassed at the attention they are receiving and yet powerless against the force of nature called Kang Seulgi, lets himself be dragged.

When they finally end up in a secluded room with shelves of files surrounding them, Seulgi says, "You have a lot of guts showing your face here  _ unannounced  _ after ghosting me for so long!" Her glares hard and Chanyeol knows he's in trouble.

"Look Seul, I'm sorry but-"

" _ 104 unread messages. 58 missed calls. 21 unreplied voicemails. _ " Seulgi accuses, her voice sharp and merciless. "Unless you got bit by a radioactive spider and went into the cocoon phase of becoming spiderman, no excuse is gonna cut it Park Chanyeol!"

"I'm pretty sure that's not how it happened in the movie but-" Chanyeol stops, realising that his goofy quips won't amuse Seulgi, not when she's viciously staring daggers at him. "I'm sorry, okay? I sent you an apology gift too to tell you how sorry I am."

"The Burberry products were appreciated, but not enough for me to forgive you. And since when do you even have such a good taste in fashion?"

Chanyeol doesn't reply immediately. His mind goes back to his impromptu run in with Baekhyun at the store. Baekhyun, after they decided to remeet, had asked him what brought him here and Chanyeol told him that he was looking for a gift for Seulgi. Baekhyun had helped Chanyeol pick two more dresses other than the one Chanyeol had already liked and decided upon which accessories to wear with them. Chanyeol was more than happy to take the passenger seat and let Baekhyun do what he does best. Baekhyun was the it boy of the nation for a reason. But Chanyeol did, however, stubbornly protested when Baekhyun insisted on not letting Chanyeol pay. In his defence, he was  _ the brand ambassador  _ for Burberry and Chanyeol had always been weak for those puffy lips pulling into a pout. So Byun Baekhyun had won in the end.

"Lets just say, the people at the store had impeccable taste." Chanyeol decides to spring up the news of Baekhyun right now, he'll tell Seulgi everything when she's calmer.

Seulgi shakes her head, "Anyway, that's not the point. You were a jerk for ghosting me."

"I'm really sorry Seul. I just needed some time alone." Chanyeol scratches the back of his neck. "And guess what? I-"

"-signed the papers and submitted them fifteen minutes ago? Yeah, it doesn't take a genius to figure that out." Seulgi raises an eyebrow. "And it doesn't even matter. Because you know what? I knew you were going to do it anyway. It was just a matter of time."

Chanyeol opens his mouth but Seulgi raises a finger, shutting him up. "I'm not done yet. I know why you refused to talk to me. It's because you thought I was going to be upset with you if you didn't wanna stay."

Seulgi pauses, giving Chanyeol a chance to argue against her accusation. But Chanyeol doesn't.

"You really think that low of me? That I'd hold it against you if you wanted to leave? Would I be upset? Yes. But would I be upset with you? Never. I'd  _ always  _ respect your decision, Chanyeol."

Chanyeol feels like someone punched him in the gut. He was so wrong about Seulgi. "I'm sorry, Seulgi. You're right, that's exactly what I thought. And that's because that's how I would have reacted. You mean so much to me and I-I-I don't know, I was just scared that you were gonna hate me and I'm sorry for thinking that way."

Seulgi sighs. "It's really hard to stay mad at you when you look like a kicked puppy that's about to cry."

"So I'm forgiven?" Chanyeol asks, exaggerating his pout and creased eyebrows with expectant eyes.

"Yes, you giant baby. How long do you think I can stay mad at those pointy ears? I just needed to vent it out." Seulgi reaches to ruffle Chanyeol's hair.

"Seul, I love you and I'm sorry, but  _ will you please stop doing that to my hair?! _ "

"Alright Mr. Perfect Hair, now listen. I asked Joohyun out to dinner." Seulgi says, panicked excitement filling her eyes.

"Be honest Seulgi, you were dying to say that from the moment I walked in, didn't you?" Chanyeol snickers. "Congratulations, Seul. Didn't know you had it in you."

"Of course I was dying to tell you, I even cut my being upset short to get to this." Seulgi rolls her eyes. "Oh, and you're coming with me."

"Even with my limited earth culture knowledge I know, that's not how dates work." Chanyeol bites back an amused smirk.

Seulgi narrows her eyes. "I don't need you being cheeky with me considering I just saved your ass. And for your information, it took me ten times like the guts to ask Joohyun to have dinner with us than it would have taken me to finally tell Minseok to be nicer to be."

"Well, A. Saved my ass how? And B. Don't you always say Dr. Kim isn't  _ that  _ bad?"

Seulgi shrugs, "He isn't really. But he sure can be a headache sometimes."

"Then we come back to my first question. Saved my ass how?" Chanyeol asks again.

"Well, long story short, you need to convince Joohyun to let you stay." Seulgi said and Chanyeol waited for her to continue but when she doesn't add any further explanation.

"Okay, I need the long story to understand what is actually happening." Chanyeol asks, eyebrows knitted and a frown taking place on his face.

"Okay, so you know the basic procedure of extending your stay, right?" Chanyeol nods. "Your application needs to be sanctioned by one of the transfer receiving doctors and-"

"My receiving doctor is Dr. Kim, not Dr. Bae." Chanyeol states.

"Wow, I had no idea. Here I was thinking that me assisting Minseok during your transfer was some vivid wild dream." Seulgi gives him a look.

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. Please continue."

"Thank you." Seulgi gives him a fake smile. "So, as I was saying, your application needs to be sanctioned by a transfer receiving doctor and usually it is done by the doctor who is chosen as the primary guardian of the traveller bit there is no particular rule stating so. And Minseok has been really busy with the workload and Joohyun offered to take care of most of his paperwork, including this."

"I still don't see the problem. Why would she reject me?" Chanyeol asks.

"I'm not telling you  _ anything  _ if you keep interrupting like this." Seulgi rolls her eyes. Chanyeol holds one of his ears with a pout. 

Seulgi continues with a sigh. "Usually, it wouldn't be a problem. But I overheard Joohyun talking to her assistant about how she needs to reject all applications."

"Why?" Chanyeol bursts out, the panic of maybe having to leave finally settling in. "Isn't it more of a formality? I've never heard about anyone getting rejected."

Seulgi doesn't scold Chanyeol for interrupting again. Instead she gently squeezes his shoulder and says, "Relax, you won't get kicked out of earth."

"But why is this even happening?" 

"I'm not too sure but I heard Joohyun say something about there being too many travellers on earth right now, so we need to dial down the numbers. Earth is one of the few planets where Celenoids have to visit in hiding rather than coexist since human species are very… hostile. So, we need to keep out numbers in check. It's standard procedure, Chanyeol."

Chanyeol nods. "So we go to dinner and I convince her to let me stay?"

"Yeah, just tell her personally. I'm sure she'll comply. Honestly what difference does one Celenoid makes?"

Chanyeol exhales deeply. "I hope you are right." Chanyeol is about to ask about the dinner arrangements but Seulgi's phone buzzes. "Minseok needs me. I'll see you later. And don't worry, I'll text you the dinner details." Seulgi rushes out, not before pausing at the door. "And if you wear something hideous, I'm gonna have the security of the restaurant personally escort you out."

***

Other than the occasional small talk, and the clatter of cutlery, awkward silence accompanied the dinner.

Chanyeol waited for Seulgi to bring up the real reason behind this sudden dinner but Seulgi sat stiff as a log. Chanyeol nudges her a few times but she only manages to glare at him and shake her head.

It amuses Chanyeol how she was the one who had encouraged him to be bold and brave in front of Baekhyun while she seemed to not be able to get more than a few syllables out in front of Joohyun.

Not that Joohyun was intimidating; despite her icy cool appearance at work, Joohyun was rather elegant and graceful outside work. Her smile was exceptionally warm and comforting and she invited all conversations with delight. In fact, she kept asking Chanyeol general questions about his likes and dislikes. Although if Chanyeol didn't believe she was only doing it to fill the silence with small talk every now and then, he would have thought the lady was prying even though it wouldn't match Joohyun's personality at all.

"Desserts will be arriving any moment now. I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty to order strawberry cheesecakes for all of us. You like strawberries, Chanyeol?" Joohyun asks.

"Love them." Chanyeol replies.

"And while we wait, why don't you tell me the real reason why we're here." Joohyun says, looking straight at Chanyeol.

Chanyeol and Seulgi exchange a look, contemplating on what to say.

"I mean, there must be a good reason that Ms. Kang here, who barely ever speaks three words to me, suddenly invited me to dinner. I was pretty sure she hated me given how she always avoids me."

"I don't hate you." Seulgi immediately blurs out. "I'm just… shy."

Unable to control himself anymore, Chanyeol snickers, earning him a glare from Seulgi. "But you're right. I did have an ulterior motive for this dinner. It's about Chanyeol."

"Well, then I have to thank you, Chanyeol. Because of you, Seulgi finally decided to speak to me. Usually, she's as mute as she has been this whole dinner and it's a pity because she has a beautiful voice."

Chanyeol only wishes that he had a camera to record how red Seulgi's face turned.

"I-I-" Seulgi stammers and Chanyeol decides to put his friend out of misery and takes over. 

"Actually, Joohyun, yes we are here to talk about me. We are here to talk about my application to extend my stay on earth." He states as casually as he can pretend to. Seeming too desperate may cause more hindrance than help in this case.

"Oh? I didn't know you needed an extension. As far as Minseok had told me, you were here just for a kpop concert? Or am I confusing you with someone else?" Joohyun asks, blinking a few times in confusion.

Chanyeol is surprised that Dr. Kim would mention something like that to his colleague. The man seemed too closed off to be doing office gossip with his co-worker. He looks over at Seulgi, whose face it's neutral, devoid of any surprise. Chanyeol decides that perhaps he doesn't know the man enough, afterall Chanyeol was only one of the thousand Celenoids who had been under his care.

"No, you got it right. That's me, the guy who came to earth just to attend a kpop concert." Chanyeol chuckles, the concert feeling so distant now even though it only happened a few days ago.

"Yes, it has been quite the talk at work, we have never seen someone come to earth for a concert before." Joohyun laughs. "But if you were here only for that, and according to my knowledge the concert ended a few days ago, then why would you need an extension? I can give you one, sure. But if it's not something important, I'll have to cut you short unfortunately. We are facing certain… deterrents to sanctioning extensions."

The dessert arrives, distracting Joohyun and giving Chanyeol some time to think over exactly what justification to provide Joohyun with. He could tell her that it was his sturdily warm friendship that's budding with Seulgi but he doesn't want to risk Joohyun getting the wrong idea. So he settles for the other truth instead.

"I have a meeting with Byun Baekhyun."

Two heads snap right at him, one with surprise and amazement while the other with shock and accusation.

"Byun Baekhyun?" Seulgi grits through her teeth.

"You didn't know?" Joohyun asks her, genuinely questioning. "I thought you two were close."

"We are." Seulgi says, not sparing Joohyun a glance. "But  _ somehow _ it must have slipped his mind, didn't it Chanyeol?" She gave him a sickly sweet smile but her eyes conveyed another message. 'We'll talk about this later.'

She finally turns to Joohyun, only this time her smile was not as fake as the one she gave Chanyeol. "I'm afraid I'm as much at a loss as you are. So Chanyeol, why don't you enlighten us?"

"Well, I bumped into Baekhyun in a store yesterday and-"

"Wow, that's incredibly fortunate!" Joohyun claps her hands in delight. "The odds of that happening are what? One in a million?"

Chanyeol thinks about how Joohyun and Seulgi are so different yet so alike in certain ways. He wonders about their future; whether their spark will extinguish or burn in flames brighter than the sun. Once again, his mind drifts to forbidden questions about their wanderer nature, the cold hard rock impending to drop on this blooming chemistry, and he sighs to himself.

"Chanyeol? Did you not hear her?" Joohyun's voice brings him back to reality.

"Huh?" He looks up, dazed, to find the two women staring at him expectantly. "I'm sorry. I zoned out for a moment there." The laugh that follows is awkward, solely in hopes that neither of the ladies can see the fears for their future that Chanyeol is trying to hide.

"Seulgi asked if it was the Burberry store in that mall uptown where you met him." Joohyun states.

"Oh uhmm… yeah that's the one. How did you know?" Chanyeol looks at Seulgi quizzically to which Seulgi shrugs. 

"You bought me gifts from Burberry. I just figured two plus two equals a blonde Burberry brand ambassador."

"Platinum haired now but yeah, I bumped into him there by accident while I was looking for a gift to buy you. And  _ I _ convinced  _ him  _ to meet me again." Chanyeol says, purely for the purpose of leading Joohyun to believe that it was a regular-miraculous idol-fan interaction. His eyes don't miss the infinitesimal movement of Seulgi's face into a nod, relieving him of the worries that she may not catch the hidden truth.

"How did you even manage that, Chanyeol?" Joohyun leans in, interested.

"Charmed him, I guess?" Chanyeol gives another awkward laugh. "I just fanboyed really hard, and I guess he took pity on me."

"Well, you must be a real charmer then." Joohyun says. "Okay, I'll sanction your application. When is this meeting though?"

He couldn't answer, because he didn't know. "His manager will call me." He lied. It was easier to lie than to explain why it was Byun Baekhyun, the idol himself, who was going to contact him.

But Baekhyun didn't contact him. Not for ten days, atleast. By then, Chanyeol had lost all hopes of ever meeting Baekhyun again and had accepted his fate as a naive, gullible little alien on earth who had been fooled by a bewitching, beautiful human.

Seulgi, though, had been awfully optimistic ever since Chanyeol had told her the truth that night after dinner. She had vehemently tried to reassure Chanyeol with every passing day, as his hope slowly dimmed.

It was strange how the two had reversed roles; now Seulgi was the one who believed that Baekhyun was innocent while the impatience and the accompanying anxiety clouded Chanyeol's mind enough to believe that Byun Baekhyun was a liar and a heartbreaker.

A text from Baekhyun appears at an unexpected moment, albeit a text at any moment is unexpected for a man who has given up on the hope of ever receiving it.

Chanyeol had just finished eating his Chinese takeouts and was immersed into the task of dish washing, with body lightly swaying and head bobbing to Girls Generation's  _ Catch Me If You Can  _ booming through his little studio apartment when his phone buzzed.

He lazily turns off the tap and dabs his hands dry with a towel, wondering what Seulgi had to say now. Digging into his hoodie pocket, he fetches out his phone only to see a certain Byun Baekhyun pop up.

Curious and also nervous, he opens the message to find a simple 'Hi!'

He deliberates for a moment on what to text back. He's about to type a simple greeting in response when another text appears 'This is Baekhyun.'

Chanyeol's heart leaps. Somehow, Baekhyun reintroducing himself solidifies the fact that this is really happening. Before he can reply, or even process, another text appears. 'I should have mentioned that first. Sorry ><'

Chanyeol squeals at how cutely Baekhyun texts. Baekhyun really forgot that he himself had saved his number in Chanyeol's phone. And, once again, before he can type out a clumsy reply, another text appears. 'Text me when you see this.'

With shaky fingers, Chanyeol spells out a simple 'Hey!' and is about to hit send but another text from Baekhyun beats him to it. 'Only if you want to. It's totally okay if you don't wanna talk. I'll understand.'

Chanyeol hits send. There's no reply for a while. Chanyeol wonders what's taking Baekhyun so long, given he was quick enough to type out three sentences while Chanyeol struggled with a three lettered word.

After a minute, a reply comes. 'You texted back :') Thank You'

Chanyeol bites his lip. Baekhyun really must be expecting him to be angry. And he should be, but how to stop the rush of serotonin boost smothering through his body just because Baekhyun finally texted?

'I'm so sorry for taking so long to contact you. I was stuck with comeback preparations :(( '

'It's okay…' Chanyeol types back. It all makes sense now. Chanyeol only has a rough idea regarding the amount of time and effort comeback preparation must take, yet he is sure that Baekhyun must be buried in work right now.

'Thank you for understanding! I'm a little free tomorrow, so if you have tomorrow can we meet?'

'Yeah, I'm free too. Will see you tomorrow.'

'Great ^^ Can you drop by at the company if it's not a problem?'

Chanyeol gasps out loud. Getting to visit SM Entertainment has always been a dream of his, one that he never expected to come true. Funnily enough, he had mentioned this during his dinner with Seulgi and Joohyun. Oh, how he cannot wait to call Seulgi and tell her everything.

'Not a problem at all! I'd love that, actually.'

He feels an excited shiver run down his spine. After sulking and moping over the past few days, it's amazing how quickly Chanyeol's mood changed just because Baekhyun contacted him.

'Oh, that's amazing! So I'll text you the time and the address? Just tell the receptionist you're there to see me, I'll have Jongdae put a word in advance!'

'Okay.'

'Looking forward to seeing you… I hope we can clear out all the misunderstandings :'( '

'Yeah, me too.'

'I need to go now, see you tomorrow! Bye~~'

Chanyeol puts his phone down his phone and jumps around to release the excitement bubbling within him. And the next thing he does is call Seulgi; if he's gonna go meet Byun Baekhyun again, and hope for nothing to go wrong, then he's gonna head a lot of pep talk and perhaps a magic potion for the nerves.

***

SM Entertainment was exactly what Chanyeol had imagined it to be. Magnificent and posh, with an entrance lobby in a white and platinum colour scheme. The floor was tiled with expensive marble, and the lighting was bright sterile white. People bustled around Chanyeol, everyone busy in their own world of work.

Chanyeol had arrived two hours earlier than their decided time early hoping to have a chance to visit the SM Town Mall attached to the original building. But unfortunately, the Mall was closed for internal repairs.

With way more time to spare than he intended to have, Chanyeol wondered what he should do and decided to send Baekhyun a quick text that he arrived early.

He takes his time to admire the fancy interior of the place, oozing of power and class. SM Entertainment was the biggest entertainment agency in the world of kpop and they had spared no expense in the decorations of this place to exhibit it.

Behind the reception desk was a huge plasma screen that showed pictures of various artists that were signed, past and present, under SM Entertainment. BOA, TVXQ, Girls Generation. SM was truly home to the most legendary of kpop idols.

Chanyeol heads to the reception where a middle aged woman sits, rushing from one intercom to another. Chanyeol almost felt bad for bothering her.

"Excuse me." He politely says, waiting for the woman to reply. The woman looks up and motions him to continue speaking, while she's still attending a phone call.

"I'm here to see Byun Baekhyun?" He hesitantly says. The lady mouths an okay and raises her right index finger signalling him to wait for a moment. Chanyeol nods understandingly.

His phone buzzes and he takes it out to find a reply to the text he had sent Baekhyun. 

'Oh no, I have an interview soon :(( but I'll send Jongdae to get you! You can stay here with me while I get the interview done, if that's okay with you?'

Chanyeol's heart sinks a little but he doesn't have the time to dwell on it as he gets distracted by a light tap on his shoulder.

He turns to find a young girl, perhaps an intern, standing in front of him with an expectant expression.

"Excuse me? Are you the reporter from Glamour?" The girl enquires.

"Sorry, what?"

"I'm asking if you're the rookie reporter sent by Glamour? I heard you say you're here to see Baekhyun, so I'm guessing you're him? You're fifteen minutes early, by the way." The girl speaks confidently and comfortably, as if she's done this many times before.

Chanyeol realises that she had mistaken his identity but instead of denying it, he decides to have a little fun of his own. "Ah, I'm here to see Byun Baekhyun, yes, although I must apologise for arriving earlier than I'm supposed to."

The girl smiles and asks him to follow her. Chanyeol falls right behind her step, biting back a giggle. He's getting a thrill out of the whole situation, having never done anything like this in his entire life, on any planet before.

He reassures himself that no harm will come from his little white lie. Chanyeol would never want to cause anyone trouble on purpose. Since the original reporter still had time to come, the girl will be back at her spot to receive him in time.

"What's your name?" The girl asks, trying to make a conversation. 

"Park Chanyeol." Chanyeol replies honestly. If the girl has a name record of the person actually coming to conduct the interview, Chanyeol would get caught right now.

"I'm Lee Soobin." She replies, not suspecting a thing.

As they walk through a hallway, Chanyeol's shoulder bumps against someone. He's about to apologise but the person beats him to it. "No, no, it's okay." He says, and suddenly stops upon realising the person he bumped into, a man in a hoodie and sweatpants was none other than one of kpop's best dancers, Lee Taemin.

Taemin smiles at him and continues on his way. The realisation that he is in SM Entertainment building finally fully hits Chanyeol.

"This way." Soobin guides him into the elevator and presses the twenty-second floor.

"It must be hard, huh?" Soobin suddenly says and Chanyeol looks at her confused. "You know, you're the one running here and there to record the interviews and some higher up reporter is gonna just sit in his chair, edit the whole thing, and put his name on it."

"Rookie reporters have it pretty hard." Chanyeol agrees.

"The interview of Jackson Wang from last issue, was that you too?"

"There wasn't my name on it."

"Right." Soobin laughs. "Have you come to SM before? I haven't been interning that long but long enough, and I have never seen you around."

"It's my first time here, yeah." Chanyeol replies honestly.

"What would you say? Is our building better or JYP's?" She asks, the tone of light teasing clear in her voice.

"I'd prefer SM over anything, really."

The ding of the elevator stops Soobin from saying whatever it is that she was going to say next, and Chanyeol is thankful for that. Soobin seemed nice but Chanyeol really is not in a mood to make a conversation with her, particularly not as rookie reporter Park Chanyeol.

He steps out and walks ahead while Soobin still lingers near the elevator door. Realising that Soobin is not accompanying him, Chanyeol turns to ask if he's heading in the wrong direction.

"No, just walk straight and take the first right and stop at the second door." She says, looking at her feet. 

"You're not coming?" Chanyeol asks, confused.

"Oh I am. I'm just…" She trails off and Chanyeol waits for her to continue. "Chanyeol? Are you free for coffee after this?"

Chanyeol's eyes widen. Did he just get asked out? So this is why she was trying so hard to make small talk in the elevator? A slow and steady blush creeps upon his face. Now he feels bad for tricking her, knowing how embarrassed she'll be when she finds out.

"Soobin, I'm sure you're a great girl, but I'm sorry. I'll have to pass on the offer."

Soobin gives a disappointed smile. "I see. It's fine. Let's go."

They walk in silence after that till they reach the room. Soobin knocks on the door and after hearing a faint 'Come in', she opens the door and steps in. Chanyeol gulps nervously and follows.

The room is a simple vanilla walled one, with a couch in one corner and a mirror and dressing table attached to the wall parallel to the couch. A round glass table is set somewhere in the middle, not exactly symmetrical well-positioned, and chairs surround it. On one of those chairs sits Byun Baekhyun, staring intently at his phone, completely discarding the presence of the new intruders.

"The reporter for your Glamour interview is here, Baekhyun." Soobin says softly and politely, sensing Baekhyun's agitated mood.

Baekhyun looks up and his shocked expression makes Chanyeol believe that it was all worth it after all. He gawks at Chanyeol with his mouth slightly open, surprised and speechless. His face is looking so comical that it takes Chanyeol all his will power to restrain himself from laughing out loud

But Baekhyun, being used to constant public scrutinization, is a master of disguising his real emotions. His expression quickly to a much calmer one.

"Reporter, you say?" He raises an eyebrow. 

"Yes, this is Park Chanyeol from Glamour." Soobin introduces.

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Byun." Chanyeol adds with a sly smile.

"Soobin," Baekhyun shakes his head to himself, chuckling. "Why don't you go back to the reception. I believe you're needed there."

"But-" Soobin begins protesting, confused.

"Go." Baekhyun is smiling but his tone is authoritative enough for Soobin to disappear without a word.

Once Soobin is out, Baekhyun bursts out laughing. Chanyeol grins widely, watching the man laugh, looking breathtakingly beautiful. Baekhyun's laugh rings throughout the room like the sweet tingles of a windchime.

"I can't believe you told her you're a reporter." He says, between laughs.

"Well, I never explicitly said that." Chanyeol quips. "People hear what they want to hear."

Baekhyun's laughter stops, but he continues to gaze at Chanyeol fondly. "How can you be so innocent and so sly at the same time?"

"I'm not innocent!" The protest is immediate and so is the accompanying pout. "But, on a serious note, I didn't cause any trouble right?"

"Oh not at all. Let me just quickly send Jongdae a text about this. He's at the reception so he'll tell Soobin." Baekhyun takes a moment to text Jongdae. "See? No harm done. Except for the anxiety you made me feel." He narrows his eyes at Chanyeol.

"Anxiety? What?" Chanyeol tenses.

"You never replied to my text. I got worried that I upset you." Baekhyun huffs.

"Oh, that! I'm so sorry, it completely slipped my mind. I was about to reply to you but then Soobin asked me if I was a reporter and I decided to play along." Chanyeol gives him a teeth-showing cheeky smile.

"Aah, poor Soobin fell victim of that innocent face." Baekhyun teases. "Can't really blame her though. You do look like a cute little rookie reporter."

Chanyeol has Seulgi's choice of outfit to thank for that. He was dressed in jeans and a plain gray t-shirt, with a large midnight blue jacket. His clothes were nothing out of ordinary but Chanyeol had to admit he looked  _ really good  _ in them, especially with the thin rimmed round glasses that Seulgi made him wear. 'They make you look cute.' She had said when Chanyeol asked why did he need to wear glasses when his body did not have any eye problems. With the way Baekhyun was looking at him right now, she must have been right.

"You said all that just to call me cute and little, didn't you?" Chanyeol says, looking away to hide his blush.

"Guilty." Baekhyun raises his hands with a laugh. "Everytime I meet you, I just wanna put you in my pocket."

The door opens to reveal Jongdae and a man accompanying him. "This is Reporter Kim from Glamour. The  _ actual  _ guy who is supposed to interview you." Jongdae says, giving Chanyeol a pointed but humoured look at the 'actual' part.

The man looks nothing like what Chanyeol had expected. Since Soobin had mistaken him to be this person, in Chanyeol's mind Reporter Kim resembled Chanyeol's built. But instead, he was a short but skinny man in his late twenties with messy hair and a permanent frown on his face.

"Why don't you go on with the interview while I show Chanyeol around?" Jongdae says to Baekhyun. 

Baekhyun looks at Chanyeol questioning whether it's okay with him. Chanyeol nods ecstatically, excited to be getting an opportunity to get a tour of the SM building. 

Jongdae turns out to be a great company. The guy is laidback and easygoing, with an endearing laugh that's just a bit too loud (but Chanyeol likes it).

He shows Chanyeol the whole place while cracking jokes and telling small stories of Baekhyun related to that place. Practice rooms, recording studios, makeup rooms, vocal lesson rooms; with Jongdae sharing little parts of Baekhyun's life at this place, Chanyeol starts feeling like a part of Baekhyun's past.

"And this marks as the end of our tour. Baekhyun would be done or close to it by now, so let's head back?" Jongdae says and Chanyeol nods.

The pass by a practice room with loud music playing inside. "That's the Girls Generation's practice room." Jongdae says and Chanyeol stops on his track. Did Jongdae just say Girls Generation? The most iconic, revolutionary girl group of all time?

"Normally I'd take you inside to introduce you to them, but Baekhyun would kill me if I do." He chuckles.

"What? Why? Why would Baekhyun kill you?" Chanyeol asks frantically.  _ Why would Baekhyun kill you for getting me to meet my greatest girl crushes? _

"That boy is so possessive about his fans. He doesn't want any competitions for your affections. And definitely not one from your favourite girl group." Jongdae says, amused.

"How do you both know that I love GG?" Chanyeol asks, confused.

Jongdae stops on his tracks. "Uhmm… you just seem like a person who would be a Girls Generation fan, I guess?"

"Oh, I see!" Chanyeol nods, not suspecting anything wrong.

When they reach Baekhyun's room again, the interview is already over and Baekhyun seems to be waiting for them to return.

"You're finally here!" Baekhyun says, getting up from his chair. "It's only been ten minutes that I'm alone and it already feels like forever."

"That's because you're as impatient as an infant." Jongdae rolls his eyes.

"Dae, why don't you leave us alone?" Baekhyun gives Jongdae a sickly sweet sarcastic smile. "Oh! Chanyeol, I ordered strawberry cupcakes for us, I hope you don't mind."

"Love them." Chanyeol says, feeling a sense of deja vu. Baekhyun beams in delight.

"I'm allergic to too sweet things, so I'll be leaving you two alone." Jongdae says, with a scrunched up face. "And by too sweet, I definitely did not mean the cupcakes."

Before leaving, he adds, sincerely. "I hope you both clear out all misunderstandings today. And Chanyeol, I'm sorry for whatever happened. I was at fault too for jumping to conclusions." With that, Jongdae closes the door.

There's an awkward silence as both of them sneak glances at each other.

"Son of a bitch." Baekhyun mutters under his breath but it still manages to reach Chanyeol's ears. "He just had to ruin the whole playful atmosphere I'd created."

"You supposedly creating atmospheres on your own is exactly what started this mess, Baekhyun." Chanyeol says, a little irked now. Even though Baekhyun had probably not meant it in that way, Chanyeol didn't like the idea of being manipulated through an intentionally fabricated atmosphere just to make it easy for Baekhyun to talk. "So why don't we just start off by being straightforward and honest?"

Baekhyun sighs, "You're right. Let's talk."

"Let's start with a simple yes or no question. Did you try to use me back then?" Chanyeol gets straight to the point.

"What do you think?" Baekhyun asks, looking right at him.

"Does it matter what I think?" Chanyeol snaps back.

"It does to me. So please, tell me, do you really believe I'm capable of such a thing?" Baekhyun's eyes are pleading and Chanyeol can no longer hold his resolve against those eyes.

"A part of me has unconditional faith in you but another part of me can't help but wonder..." He trails off.

"Okay." Baekhyun nods, understanding yet sad. "That's good enough for me. And no, I never, not for one second, even  _ thought _ of using you."

"Then why didn't you say anything?!" Chanyeol's voice raises involuntarily. "I waited for you to come after me and say something,  _ anything _ , but you never did."

"It's not that simple, Chanyeol." Baekhyun shakes his head. The room feels too quiet, almost suffocating, and Chanyeol wants nothing more than to get out. "I never used you, but that doesn't mean I'm completely guilt free either."

"Baekhyun, we're not gonna get anywhere if you keep talking in riddles."

"Right. I'll start from the beginning then. But we should sit down for it. This may take a while."

Chanyeol nods and they make their way towards the couch, sitting with a considerable amount of distance between them.

"The night of the concert, I had a huge fight with my company. They wanted me to stop visiting gay clubs because they thought it was too risky. They had me stay at the hotel to make sure I was under Jongdae's supervision. And I'm… it's not even about the clubs really, I'm just tired of hiding. So I fought right back and threatened them that I'd get into a dating scandal on purpose. Except it wasn't just a threat, I really planned on doing so."

"You're really willing to go that far. Wow" Chanyeol says, a tone of slight judgement audible in his voice.

Baekhyun shrugs. "If someone points a gun at you, you take that gun and point it right back at them."

"And what if your hands burn while trying to shoot a bullet from a gun you don't know how to use?"

"Better a burnt hand than shot dead. I live my life on my terms, Chanyeol. That's exactly what got me where I am today."

"Okay, I respect that. Continue."

"It's actually pretty much the same as Jongdae had narrated it, except you weren't part of the plan. I was so happy and excited about our lunch date and then Jongdae told me everything that the company said and I got so mad that I threatened  _ that _ . Jongdae got mad at me and left the room and I took the chance to make some calls."

"So it really was you who called the guy who clicked our pictures."

"Yes." Regret swims in Baekhyun's voice. "I called him to take pictures of me with someone. Someone I was going to meet later that day. He just arrived early and took pictures of us instead. I really had no idea he'd double cross me like this."

There's silence for a while. Baekhyun gives Chanyeol time to think over everything he just said and decide whether he wants to believe Baekhyun.

"Why didn't you just say all this to me before? You could have cleared everything right then and there." Chanyeol accuses.

"I know. I know. I just- it all happened so fast, I didn't know what to do at that time." Baekhyun says, miserably. "Everything happened so fast, and I was scared at the idea of what would have happened if Jongdae hadn't come and I didn't know what to say to you and I-"

"Baekhyun, hey, calm down." Chanyeol intervenes once he realises that Baekhyun's voice is shaky and he is on the verge of tears. "Look, what's happened, happened. And I believe you're telling the truth."

"I'm not proud of what I did. It was rash and it was stupid and I didn't think it through. But you have to understand that I needed to do something. I can't just keep letting my company strong arm me into doing things against my wishes." Baekhyun goes on explaining.

"Baekhyun I'm not asking for an explanation for this. And I don't think I deserve one either. You told me you weren't trying to use me and that's good enough for me. I'm not someone you owe anything further too." Chanyeol says, voicing a thought he's been having for a long time.

"You don't understand… I want to tell you because I don't want you to feel any less of me." Baekhyun says, looking at the ground.

"I'll always have the respect for you that a fan has for his idol." Chanyeol chooses his words carefully.

Baekhyun's head jerks up. Little diamonds are sparkling at the corners of his eyes, and Chanyeol  _ knows  _ that Baekhyun wouldn't want him to notice them. Nor would he want Chanyeol to see the flashes of hurt, confusion and disappointment swirling in his eyes. Did Chanyeol say something wrong?

"And what about as a person? As a man?" Baekhyun asks, his voice hard and constricted but strong.

"Why?" Chanyeol understands exactly what he meant and can't help but ask, "Why me?"

"Why not you?"

"You're trying to dodge the question. Why me Baekhyun? I've been thinking about it for a long time and I don't understand? Why did you go to dinner with me? Why were you so beautiful and charming with me? Why did you look so happy to see me at the store? Why were you so desperate to explain everything to me? I'm just a fan, Baekhyun. One out of millions." Baekhyun opens his mouth but Chanyeol doesn't let him speak. "You can say I'm cute or that you find my company endearing but that's not enough Baekhyun, and you know it."

"You're right, Chanyeol. It's not." Baekhyun gets up and heads towards the vanity mirror. He stands there silently for a while, tracing his own reflection with his slender fingertips. "You know, Chanyeol, it's so hard to find love as an idol. When you're loved by millions, you look for that one person who can give you something that those millions can't, even though you don't even know what that something is."

He pauses and turns to look at Chanyeol, "You're not the prettiest face I've encountered, Chanyeol. Nor the smartest mind. Not the wittiest tongue, either. But something about you makes me comfortable, makes me feel real. And I don't know you enough to say that I like you. But what I'm trying to say is… I  _ want  _ to know you enough, so that I can say that I like you." Without makeup concealing his natural skin, Chanyeol watches as the red hue creeps up Baekhyun's cheeks, intimately moving to his ears.

"I-I don't know how to react to that." Chanyeol says flustered, mind hazed and eyes fixated at the glorious man in front of him.

"Just say that you will go on a date with me. A real date. No scemes, no cameras. Just me and you." Baekhyun says, eyebrows raised in expectations and eyes full of hope. "Just Byun Baekhyun, regular guy, lowkey an idiot and a jerk sometimes and highkey interested in you, and Park Chanyeol, this amazing beautiful guy that I was lucky enough to come across, lowkey a big baby and highkey someone I'd want to spend days and nights knowing about. So what do you say?"

Chanyeol opens his mouth and closes it for a few times before saying. "Baekhyun, if you keep looking at me like that, I have only one thing left to say."

Not another word is exchanged after that. But the blinding smile that spreads on Baekhyun's face fills in for the things left unsaid.

***

"Seulgi, help. It's an emergency." Chanyeol says, the moment he picks up the phone.

"What? What's wrong, Chanyeol?" An immediate panic sets in Seulgi's voice.

"I have a date." Chanyeol says, pacing around in his room.

"Seriously, Chanyeol? I swear to God, I'm  _ so done  _ with you. You're panicking over  _ a date?  _ I was really scared there for a second!" Seulgi chides.

"I'm sorry, Seul. I'm just really panicked right now. In case, you didn't notice, I haven't really ever been on a date. And before you say it, my lunch with Baekhyun before  _ does not count! _ "

"Okay, okay," Seulgi sighs, "Why don't you calm down and tell who you're going on a date with first?"

"Baekhyun, obviously! Who else could it _ possibly  _ be?"

"For all I know, you could have wooed some pretty intern into asking you out." Chanyeol can feel Seulgi shrug on the other end. "I take it that everything went well with Baekhyun today, then?"

"It went better than okay, actually. Not only did he clear all misunderstandings, he wants to get to know me better. And I think I do too. I wanna know him, not as a superstar, but just as himself." Chanyeol finds himself smiling at the thought. "I don't know, Seul, I think we might have something special here."

"That's… great. That's great, Chanyeol. I'm happy for you." But her voice conveys the exact opposite.

"Seulgi, what's wrong?" Chanyeol immediately asks.

"Nothing's wrong." Seulgi tries to lie but Chanyeol has already caught her unease.

"If nothing's wrong, then why aren't you happy for me?"

"I am! I… really am."

"You don't sound happy." The words come out in confusion, not accusation. "Is this about what happened last time? Because Baekhyun was innocent. He's innocent. And if you're worrying about him being a jerkish celebrity just toying with a fan's feeling, trust me he's not like that."

"No Chanyeol, it's not that. It's…" Seulgi hesitates.

"Just tell me what's on your mind, Seul."

"It's just that…. If you and Baekhyun are getting serious, have you thought about your future, Chanyeol?" When her words and the underlying meaning dawn upon Chanyeol, a pit sets in Chanyeol's stomach. "Chanyeol, you know you have to leave one day, and maybe you'll be okay with doing it now, but if you end up falling in love with him then what? Will you be able to leave it? Will you leaving be fair to him?"

The pause that follows is heavy. Seulgi sighs. "I'm happy for you, Chanyeol. I want this for you more than anyone else. But I'm also scared thinking about what will happen when it comes to an end. You're living on limited time, Chanyeol."

With a deep breath, Chanyeol says. "I don't care."

"What?"

"I said, I don't care. I've  _ never  _ felt this way about anyone ever before and right now, I don't care about anything else. Whatever the future holds, it'll happen when it needs to happen. And I'll make my peace with it when it does. But I'm not gonna throw away my chance at happiness in the present based on that. Right now, I'm happy and I'm gonna savour every moment of this feeling. So I don't care about anything else."

"If that's your decision, then I respect that. And I support you."

"But? I sense a but coming."

"But what about Baekhyun? Is it fair to him? There's a chance of him falling in love with you too, you know. And one day, you're gonna have to disappear from his life without him knowing the truth about it. He doesn't deserve that, Chanyeol."

"He's not gonna fall in love with me. He can't. I'm not enough."

"It's sad that you actually believe that and nothing I say will convince you otherwise."

"So, we good?" Chanyeol asks, hesitant.

"I was always happy for you Chanyeol. I was just worried. And if you're sure that this is what you're gonna do, then so be it. I'm with you."

"Thank you, Seulgi. It means a lot to me, really."

"I know, you big baby." Chanyeol can almost feel her smile softly through the phone. "Now why don't we go back to the beginning where you tell me you have a date and I give you the reaction I had saved for a Baekhyun dating news for ages now."

The phone call went smoothly after that, like Chanyeol was just a regular  _ human _ telling his  _ human  _ friend about his  _ human  _ crush asking him out on a date. Seulgi enthusiastically gave him pointers on how to act chic and suave in front of Baekhyun which Chanyeol teasingly dismissed reminding her of his own blundrous behaviour in front of Joohyun. And after hours of conversation, Chanyeol goes to bed content and anticipating his upcoming date.

Two days later, he finds himself in Baekhyun's car, dressed in faded jeans and a leather jacket staring at the breathtaking man in the driver's seat next to him, whistling cheerfully.

They were going to the movies, apparently. Or atleast that's what Baekhyun said. Although Chanyeol had no idea how the world famous idol next to him plans to achieve that without any disguise.

"Where are we going, Baekhyun?" Chanyeol asks again, whining.

"I already told you. The movies!" Baekhyun says, amused. "And you're not getting any further details no matter how cute your pout is."

On cue, Chanyeol pouts. "You shouldn't be keeping secrets from me."

Baekhyun laughs. "It's not a secret, baby. It's a surprise."

Chanyeol chokes on hearing Baekhyun call him baby and starts coughing. Baekhyun offers him a bottle of water while chuckling. "You're so cute."

"Not funny, Byun. You can't just say something like that and not expect me to have a reaction like this."

"Byun?" Baekhyun looks at him, raising an eyebrow. Chanyeol mutters a small 'eyes on the road, please' while huffing. "If you sulk now,  _ Park _ , you won't be getting a  _ goodbye kiss  _ at the end."

"I think you want me dead before we even reach our date spot." Chanyeol glares at him, face red and an intense desire to dig a hole and hide rising in his heart. 

"Really, now?" Baekhyun asks, amusement dripping in his tone. "What makes you say that?"

"The fact that every word that comes out of your mouth takes me one step closer to a heart attack." Chanyeol accuses, narrowing his eyes. "It's quite convenient if you think about it. You can murder me and my autopsy report will say cause of death is a heart attack, so natural death. Haha."

Baekhyun laughs, a melody filling up the car. "Okay, okay, you big baby. No need to get so worked up. I'll  _ try  _ to dial down the teasing."

"What do you mean  _ try _ to?"

"Well, I just can't help the teasing when you're being so adorable."

Chanyeol groans, covering his face. "I think you need more words in your vocabulary other than cute and adorable."

"Like what? Delightfully pleasingly and endearing little ball of mush?"

"I will jump out of this car right now!"

They both laugh. The laughter dies down with a sense of peace settling in Chanyeol's chest. He stares out of the window, trying to take in every hue of the scenery in motion.

"What's your favourite colour?" Baekhyun suddenly asks.

"Hmm?" Chanyeol turns his gaze towards Baekhyun.

"What's your favourite colour? It's a little cliche, I know, but I figured I gotta start asking you this stuff, sometime."

"It's sky." Chanyeol simply replies.

"Sky, huh? Is there a reason behind it?" Baekhyun tries to sneak a glance at Chanyeol but the latter immediately chides. Baekhyun rolls his eyes in annoyance.

"Whenever I look at the sky, I just feel so glad that I'm down here with the people I want to be with and not on some other planet with a magenta sky or one with poisonous clusters in place of clouds." The words slip out too fast before Chanyeol can put a hold on them. He's too comfortable with Baekhyun, too comfortable to hold back any thoughts that may give a hint of his real identity.

He looks at Baekhyun intently upon realising what he had just said, checking for any signs of suspicion but Baekhyun simply chuckles. "You sure have a vivid imagination. But, I suppose when you put it like that, sky is my favourite colour too."

Chanyeol mentally sighs in relief. "So how's the comeback preparation going?" He asks to divert Baekhyun's attention.

"Hectic. But also, fun. I'm really excited for the fans to see it. I've worked really hard." Baekhyun says, satisfied. Baekhyun passionately talking about his work is his favourite look on Baekhyun, Chanyeol decides.

"I'm sure it's gonna be great. Can't wait for it."

"Do you want it right now? I can play all the songs for you if you want. Studio version  _ and  _ live singing. Everything at disposal for my little baby."

"You're doing it again!" Chanyeol whines, and Baekhyun shamelessly shrugs. "And as tempting as that offer is, I'm an honest fan. I listen to the album with my fandom when it drops and scream on twitter about it."

"A man with principles, sexy."

"Baekhyun!"

"Okay, it was completely unintentional this time."

"Whatever, just ask me a question."

"So did it hurt when you fell from the sky?"

"Byun Baekhyun!"

The whole car ride passes in a blur of sweet banter, brazen flirting, light touches with feigning innocence and little glimpses into each other's souls.

"A drive-in movie theatre. That's quite crafty." Chanyeol says, impressed.

"Well, I wanted a normal date and booking a whole theatre to avoid the public isn't exactly the epitome of normalcy. So, here we are."

"And we're watching Iron Man?" Chanyeol raises an eyebrow.

"Figured we can never go wrong with a classic. Iron Man is everyone's favourite. Who doesn't like him?"

Chanyeol didn't, because he had never seen Iron Man. But of course he doesn't say that to Baekhyun, instead he nods along as if he had every scene from the movie memorised. "Right, I love Iron Man."

Baekhyun fetches out a mask and a cap from his car drawer. "I'll go get us some popcorn. Don't miss me too much." With a wink, Baekhyun is gone.

Finally having a moment of solitude, Chanyeol places a hand on his heart, which was palpitating like a little hummingbird throughout the drive, and exhales deeply.

He's feeling so many emotions, it's overwhelming. He never expected to find so much happiness in the simplest of things. A smile from Baekhyun could light up his world, a laugh could cause calamities to his heart.

He wonders whether he has that same effect on Baekhyun. As a naive heart, he desires nothing for than these feelings to be reciprocated. But his head tells him to hope that it is not.

Baekhyun  _ must  _ not fall in love with him. Baekhyun doesn't deserve that kind of pain.

A part of Chanyeol knows that his argument that 'Baekhyun shall never fall in love with him' is feeble, that he's simply being selfish by not giving up on Baekhyun but deep down he's hoping against hope for a miracle to bestow upon his tragic fate.

"You seem like you're in deep thought." Chanyeol has no idea when the door opened and Baekhyun slipped back in. A familiar feeling of comfort fills his chest upon hearing Baekhyun's voice. "Didn't I tell you not to miss me too much?"

"Who said I was thinking about you?" Chanyeol shoots right back.

"The dreamy look on your face." Baekhyun smirks and Chanyeol blushes. "Don't be too shy. Jongdae says, apparently I have it too whenever I think of you."

Chanyeol opens his mouth to reply but doesn't know what to say.

"Come on, the movie is starting."

The lights outside dim as the movie on the large projection screen starts playing. Chanyeol straightens up in anticipation and Baekhyun chuckles.

"The movie is that way." Chanyeol pouts.

"I couldn't look at you the whole drive. I'm gonna take the movie time to compensate for that." Baekhyun turns sideways to look at Chanyeol properly. "And who cares about a movie I've seen a million times when I have a little shining star next to me."

Chanyeol gets flustered. "Whatever."

Chanyeol gets engrossed in the movie, jumping, giggling, cheering along. While Baekhyun watches quietly, sending half the time eye-smiling looking at how happy Chanyeol was. Occasionally, their hands would accidentally graze while eating popcorn and while Chanyeol would blush and try to retract his hand, Baekhyun would shamelessly attempt to hold it.

Chanyeol feels giddy. He has never experienced romance before and with every passing second, he's drowning deeper; drowning in the wave of bliss that hit him, suddenly, ferociously. Chanyeol's heart has been left arid for so long that he's delirious at the sudden inflow of water, with every drop whispering a single name; Byun Baekhyun.

The serenity of the evening air transitions into the romance of the night sky as their date comes to an end. The moonlight from the lone moon shines on Baekhyun's face, like threads of glimmers weaving through his platinum hair and dripping down his face. Of all the creatures L-1127 had ever encountered, the Baekhyun he sees through Chanyeol's eyes was the most beautiful one and no language, no combination of morphemes will ever be enough for Chanyeol to describe it.

When Baekhyun finally drops Chanyeol back at his apartment, they both hesitate in the car's silence. The sweet aroma of the autumn wind fills the vehicle as Chanyeol opens his door. The air announces the soon incoming winter with its icy touches but every inch of Chanyeol's skin is burning in the heat of the flame blazing bright in his heart.

"I should get going." Chanyeol says, waiting, hoping for Baekhyun to stop him. 

"It's getting late." Baekhyun agrees. "I hope you had a good time today."

It's like the night is acting coy, batting it's eyelashes with hushed giggles directed at the nervous couple underneath it's blanket of sparkles. And it stirred Baekhyun along with it. Gone was the bold and charming Baekhyun with oozing confidence and blatant advances, and he was replaced by a confused, flustered boy who was desperately pleading his date to stay with his eyes but couldn't find the words to say so.

"I did." Chanyeol replies, just as desperate to prolong the conversation and have a reason to stay. "We should do this more."

"We can do this as often as you want." Baekhyun smiles, his eyes gazing at Chanyeol with fondness. "In fact, we could make it a tradition. Like an yearly anniversary thing. What do you say?"

There's nothing Chanyeol could ever want more but he knows he doesn't have the luxury of an infinite time and he doesn't want to make false promises. "I'm not really a making-traditions kinda guy. I'm more of a go-with-a-flow kinda person."

The disappointment that flashes through Baekhyun's eyes makes Chanyeol's heart crumble. "I see." A smile slowly spreads across Baekhyun's face. "We'll just have to let fate guide our way for eternity then."

"Are you a believer of fate then, Baekhyun?"

"I believe that if two stars are fated to align, no power in the universe can stop them."

"That's a beautiful thought."

"Well, I'm sitting under the stars with a beautiful man. I got inspired." Baekhyun chuckles on watching Chanyeol blush. 

He slowly reaches for Chanyeol's hand. His touch shoots electricity through Chanyeol, making him hold his breath. "I've never felt this way before, Chanyeol. And I don't wanna stop. I never want to stop feeling like this." There's a sudden shift in the night, like a playful crush maturing into a passionate romance, as Baekhyun peers into Chanyeol's eyes.

Baekhyun's eyes are casting a spell on Chanyeol, drawing him in, whispering intimate secrets that Chanyeol is beyond comprehending.

Baekhyun leans in, and Chanyeol, like a man mesmerised by a siren's song, follows his action. Though Baekhyun is slow and careful, giving Chanyeol every opportunity to back out, Chanyeol never does. He's nervous, but he's never been more sure about anything.

A warmth touches Chanyeol's cheeks as Baekhyun cups his face. "You're so beautiful." Baekhyun whispers, his breath kissing Chanyeol's skin intimately. The proximity is making Chanyeol impatient, crazy, but Baekhyun takes his time. He slowly caresses Chanyeol's face, so affectionately that Chanyeol wants to melt like the arid soil when the first stop of rain hits.

Every second feels like a thousand years until Baekhyun's lips finally meet his. Chanyeol feels his world change, like a touch of magic escalating through every fibre in his body.

Baekhyun's lips are soft yet desperate, consuming Chanyeol, liberating him, making him lose every sense of the world around him.

Chanyeol feels himself falling down a freefall, recklessly and passionately. Before he realises, his hands are in Baekhyun's hair, trying hard to hold on to whatever piece of Baekhyun he can.

If he could pause time, he would. Because, no experience throughout the continuum of time across the Universe could compare to this; to be able to taste, touch,  _ feel _ Baekhyun's soft lips move against his.

They kiss till the stars burn out, they kiss for a blink of an eye. What is time when your existence is consumed by a delirious passion?

And before Chanyeol knows it, that feeling is being taken away from him. Baekhyun moves away to catch his breath.

A light finger touches Chanyeol's swollen lips, a confirmation to ensure the distinction between illusions and reality. He softly gasps.

Baekhyun looks up at him with a smile brighter than the cosmos, as breathtaking as an angel and beautiful like the feelings it made Chanyeol feel.

In that moment, Chanyeol knew he was falling. Perhaps it was too early to call it love, but no word of any less weightage could be worthy of describing what he was feeling for the man in front of him.

_ Baekhyun _ .

Sweet, beautiful Baekhyun.

Baekhyun was like the icy gale at the dawn of a winter morning that would whisk away the sweet fragrance of a blooming bud. But Baekhyun was also a hurricane of an angry monsoon sky, tearing past the mountainous barriers of the land.

Baekhyun was new in every shade, and all Chanyeol can think of is how desperately he wants to witness it all.

***

The next few days follow like a fairytale, with Chanyeol wanting to savour every second of it so badly that he keeps the thoughts of it's impending tragic end tucked in deep corners of his mind.

He's surrounded by this air of ecstasy, with his head in cloud 9 and heart in the palm of Byun Baekhyun's hand.

The world just felt different with Baekhyun in it. And Chanyeol though he was crazy lucky to have a fortune like that stumble upon his way.

Baekhyun has been a dream throughout this time. They have laughed, kissed, touched like there's no tomorrow. Baekhyun devoted every second he could spare from his schedule to Chanyeol, taking him out on dates, inviting him to dance practices. Everything was as perfect as a movie.

But every dawn has its dusk. Chanyeol's world came down crashing with an unexpected knock on the door.

It happens when he's getting ready to meet Baekhyun (Baekhyun had promised him that he's gonna introduce Chanyeol to the ladies of Girls Generation), a knock on the door distracts him from his dilemma of choosing the right jacket for the occasion.

He opens the door to find a distressed Seulgi, wide eyed and panting.

"Chanyeol, we have a problem."

A weight settles in his chest. Seulgi has not even begun explaining what the problem was, but from the look in her eyes, Chanyeol knows.

"How much time do I have?" He asks. The sky broke on his head and the ground beneath his feet just cracked open but he's too numb to process yet.

"Five days."

Five days. Five days to live his eternity with Baekhyun. Or five days, to erase himself from Baekhyun's life.

"Why?" He asks, although it doesn't matter. If the knowledge of the cause couldn’t help him change the consequences then  _ it doesn’t matter _ .

“They are sending in a team of researchers to earth, so everyone with a term ending within a year is being sent back to keep the numbers stable. The instructions are strict, no exceptions.” Seulgi says apologetically, with eyes cast low and voice hollow like the bearer of bad news usually has.

“When is my term ending?” What he really wanted to ask was how much time he originally had, if this hadn’t happened?

“In a little less than eight months.”

Chanyeol wonders about what his life would have been like, if he had stayed with Baekhyun for that long. He thinks whether his early termination is a blessing in disguise, since if the idea of separating from Baekhyun is so excruciating now, would he, would  _ they,  _ have been able to survive this after eight months of endless love?

“Can’t we do anything? Maybe Joohyun can extend my stay to a time longer than a year, that way we can avoid this?” Did desperation ever know rationality? Chanyeol doesn’t care about anything anymore. He just wanted to hold Baekhyun in his arms for as long as he could.

“You know we can’t do that, Chanyeol. It was a miracle that she gave you such a long extension with your reason to just wanting to meet Baekhyun one more time. And even if she was sympathetic to your  _ current situation _ , her hands are as tied as any of ours.” Seulgi says, dejectedly. She reaches to embrace Chanyeol, whispering delicate consolations. “I’m sorry, Chanyeol. I’m sorry.”

“Seul I-” Chanyeol breaks down into sobs. “I can’t leave him, Seulgi, I can’t.”

Chanyeol chokes, gasping for air. His cries echo through his apartment as he crumbles into a broken mess. He mumbled incoherently, chanting Baekhyun's name like a prayer.

Seulgi's eyes water at the lamentable condition of her friend. He's crying miserably, painfully, in tears of devastation, screaming in helpless frustration, and all she can do offer him soothing words that don't seem to reach him amidst the raging storm.

"I need him. I can't- I can't-" Chanyeol holds his throat as he coughs. And Seulgi prays desperately for a miracle to save her friend.

Grief is strange. A few hours later, Chanyeol finds himself in the SM building, right outside Baekhyun's door. His tears have dried and his mind is numb.

After crying to the point that he couldn't anymore, Chanyeol collected his broken pieces and came to a decision. He's going to tell Baekhyun everything; where he came from and where he was going.

And he's going to tell Baekhyun that despite all the secrets about Celenoid L-1127, the Park Chanyeol that was going to bare his soul in front of him was real. And madly in love with him.

Perhaps Baekhyun will reject him then, call him a liar and a deceiver, or maybe Baekhyun won't believe him at all, labelling him crazy. And even if everything goes in the best possible way, the heartbreak of separation is inevitable.

With a deep breath, Chanyeol steps in. His heart shatters on seeing the way Baekhyun's face lights up in seeing him.

"Well, well, Mr. Park. I almost thought you ran away with your secret girlfriend when you decided to reschedule today." Baekhyun jokes, oblivious to Chanyeol's state of mind. "But I see my charisma pulled you right back."

Chanyeol doesn't say anything, a stabbing lump forming in his throat. He just stares at Baekhyun, trying to take in as much of the man as he can because this might just be the last he gets to see the love of his life before he spends an eternity alone.

Chanyeol stands utterly still, like an unmoving statue. There's silence till the smile on Baekhyun's face slowly fades and a mix of confusion and concern takes over.

"Chanyeol, what's wrong?" Baekhyun immediately reaches for Chanyeol.

Chanyeol wants to step back, convinced that he does not deserve Baekhyun's touch. But he's too selfish to give it up.

"Baby, you're scaring me." It's not often that Baekhyun sounds vulnerable, he's always ironclad, and Chanyeol  _ hates  _ that he's always the reason to make Baekhyun this way.

"I need to tell you something." A whisper comes out, scared and ashamed.

"Okay, okay. Whatever it is, you can tell me." Baekhyun tries to offer comfort with gentle words and soft face caresses.

"I've been hiding something from you. Something you might not believe, but it's true." Chanyeol's mind is a mess. He doesn't know where to begin from.

Baekhyun stiffens. "Chanyeol, listen about that…"

Before he can continue, the door opens and a hurried Jongdae barges in. "Baekhyun, there's an emergency."

He stops on his tracks when he sees Chanyeol, eyes wide like he said something in front of Chanyeol that he shouldn't have. 

"Not now Jongdae, can't you see we are in the middle of something important." Baekhyun snaps, instinctively a protective arm gets wrapped around Chanyeol. "Whatever it is, I'll have to wait."

"I'm afraid this can't wait." Jongdae's eyes very slowly move from Chanyeol to Baekhyun. "And  _ because _ of the situation you're in the middle of, you'll know that too."

A look is shared between the idol and the manager, with Chanyeol peering at them from the outside. Baekhyun turns to look at Chanyeol and then back at Jongdae. Jongdae nods his head confirming Baekhyun's unasked question.

"Chanyeol, I'll be back in a moment." Chanyeol begins to visibly panic but Baekhyun shakes his head, trying to calm him. "I'm not going anywhere. We'll be right outside talking, and I'll be back before you know it."

Chanyeol wants to protest but he remains frozen. Something about the look Jongdae and Baekhyun shared unsettles him, digs a pit in his stomach. He's terrified but he doesn't know why. All he knows is, he can't lose Baekhyun, not like this.

It doesn't take long for Baekhyun to return, but to Chanyeol it feels like an eternity of anxiety and overthinking.

The moment Baekhyun comes back, Chanyeol rushes towards him hastily, "Baekhyun, I need to tell you-"

"I know." Baekhyun stops him. "I know everything, Chanyeol. But we don't have time now. We need to do something if we want to keep you here, and we need to do something fast."

Chanyeol's ears start ringing and his vision starts hazing out.

_ Baekhyun knows. How? Does it matter? It means he's not gonna leave me. But how does he know? I said, it doesn't matter! Can I really trust someone who knew about me all along and lied? All that matters is I'm not hiding anything from him anymore. Who told him? Did someone rat me out? _

Chanyeol's head started spinning with questions, confusion, fear, anger, relief. Too much. It was all too much.

In his blurry vision, he sees Baekhyun reaching for him, saying something but Chanyeol can't hear beyond the ringing in his ears. And soon, it all goes black.

***

Chanyeol gains consciousness with a feeling of deja vu. The lights stabbing his eyes, the feeling of chaos around him; it all reminds him of the first time he woke up after his conscious transfer.

His head throbs and for once, he's in no hurry to get up. He just wants to escape reality for as long as he can.

"Joohyun, there  _ must  _ be a way." A voice says, desperate, pleading.

"No, Baek. I'm sorry. I gave him the extension last time for you, but my hands are really tied this time." Joohyun replies.

Chanyeol's mind fills with questions. Where is he? How does Baekhyun know Joohyun? What is going on?

"Joo, I can't lose him." Baekhyun says, dejectedly. 

"You won't." A new voice says. Jongdae? "We'll figure something out. We knew this day was going to eventually come."

"He looked so scared." Baekhyun sounds so broken that Chanyeol wants to get up and hug him. "He must be terrified of things right now."

"He would have been less terrified if you had just told him the truth from the start." A sharp voice interrupts. "Do you have any idea the emotional distress he went through thinking about hiding his identity from you? When you knew about him all along." A humourless chuckle escapes her mouth. "And here I was telling him,  _ he  _ was unfair to  _ you _ ."

"It's not Baekhyun's fault and you know it, Seulgi." Joohyun quickly defends. "He couldn't trust Chanyeol with the truth right away, and after that he was waiting for Chanyeol to bring it up first."

There's silence. Chanyeol thinks perhaps Seulgi decided to shut up to avoid getting into an argument with Joohyun.

"You know, I've liked you for so long, and when you agreed to dinner, I thought… maybe…" a choking sound espaces Seulgi's mouth. Chanyeol wants to get up and comfort his friend but he doesn't. Because he knows some fights are meant to be fought alone. "Turns out, you only agreed as a favour to your friend."

"Seulgi…." Joohyun trails off. "Why don't we talk about this outside?"

"If you think, I'm leaving Chanyeol alone with any of you, you're dead wrong." Chanyeol feels a hand wrap around his wrist. "You lot have manipulated him enough."

"Watch your words, Seulgi." Baekhyun intervenes. "I admit I hid things from him, but not for once did I even  _ think  _ of manipulating him."

"Oh yeah? Well-"

"And as much as I'm in the wrong here. Chanyeol is too. If it were upto him, I'd be an oblivious little human in love with a Celenoid who'd one day just fucking disappear on me.  _ I'd  _ be the one left with heartbreak."

"But you're not-"

"He didn't know that! To him, I was. And I waited and waited and waited for him to tell me the truth so that I can tell him mine, but he never did."

Chanyeol feels a stab in his heart, not because of the accusations Baekhyun threw his way. He knows that Baekhyun is fierce and defensive and would say things to not let people walk over him, and Chanyeol understands that. Because he knows that being in an industry as tough as entertainment, you need a metal armour to survive. What hurts Chanyeol is that everything Baekhyun said was true.

He hears Baekhyun sigh. "Look, I know you're upset with us right now. And you have all the rights to be. But you  _ have  _ to understand, I love him. And I would  _ never  _ want to do anything to hurt him."

"Chanyeol only sees the best in people." Seulgi says softly. "And it makes him the nicest guy I've ever met but I'm so scared. He's too pure, too kind. I don't want him to ever get in a position where his best qualities are what makes him vulnerable."

Chanyeol hears light sobbing sounds. "I'm sorry for being so rude but I just want what's best for him."

"I understand, Seulgi. And I promise you, I'll protect him for a lifetime." Baekhyun's voice is soft and so low that it's barely audible to Chanyeol.

"You better keep that promise Baekhyun." Seulgi replies. "We'll wait outside. I think you need some time alone with him. He's gonna wake up any moment now."

"Thank you."

Chanyeol waits till everyone leaves before opening his eyes. The first thing he sees is a turquoise wall, the blue soothing him immediately. His eyes search for Baekhyun till he finds the idol leaning against a wall in a corner of the room. Baekhyun has his eyes fixed at the ground with long, slender fingers massaging his temples. He looks tired and stressed, and yet beautiful enough to make Chanyeol's heart flutter.

"B-Baekhyun?" Chanyeol's throat feels dry making him struggle to manage saying anything better than a hoarse cough. "Water."

Baekhyun's head jerks up and he immediately dashes to the table stand to grab a glass. He hands it to Chanyeol and patiently waits for him to finish.

Chanyeol doesn't fail to notice how Baekhyun was instinctively about to caress Chanyeol's face but stopped himself and hasn't made any physical contact since.

When he's finally done, Baekhyun gives him a relieved but somehow struggling smile. "You're awake."

"I am. Have been for a while, actually." Chanyeol says, reaching for Baekhyun's hand. "Since a little before Seulgi started going protective momma bear for me."

Baekhyun softly chuckles. "She's a very good friend."

"She is. And I'd sleep with one eye open if I were you." Chanyeol jokes, relieved at how comfortable and light he felt with Baekhyun even at a time as distressing as now.

"Oh, believe me, I plan to. You should have seen her a few hours ago, when we told her everything."

There's an awkward pause as both of them don't know what more to say. Finally, Chanyeol decides to break the ice.

"How long was I out?"

Baekhyun looks at the diamond studded Rolex on his hand. "Eight hours, give or take. You gave me quite a fright, I hope you know that."

"Honestly…." Chanyeol pauses for a moment. "Deserved." He says with a sarcastic smile while making finger hearts.

The both chuckle at the same time. "When did my little baby become such a meanie?" Baekhyun finally extends his hand to ruffle Chanyeol's hair and Chanyeol grins brightly.

"So now that you've eavesdropped on us, I'm guessing you have a lot of questions?" Baekhyun says, addressing the elephant in the room.

"I think I'd have had a lot of questions even if I hadn't eavesdropped on you." Chanyeol points out.

"True. So, go on and ask me whatever you want. I'll tell you everything honestly." Baekhyun braces himself to be bombarded with questions of how, when, where and why but instead Chanyeol asks something completely unexpected.

"Do you love me?"

The question catches Baekhyun off guard, as Chanyeol expected ot to. "I've always thought of love to be something that nurtured over years and years of understanding. But then I met you, and I felt like I was living an infinity in every second that I was with you." Baekhyun says, fingers brushing Chanyeol's skin. "So, yes, I think I am in love with you."

Baekhyun's response is raw, untailored to impress Chanyeol, and it fills Chanyeol's heart with an aching pain of love.

"Then that's enough for me. I can get deported from right now, and it'll be okay because now I know the man I love, loves me too."

Chanyeol smiles as he watches Baekhyun's immediately frown in protest. "What? No. There's  _ no  _ way I'm letting them send you away. I just met you."

Chanyeol chuckles. "Baekhyun you  _ just _ said that every moment was an eternity with me."

"Well then, eternity is not enough. It's not enough till my every breath chants your name. It's not enough till my fingers have whispered all its little secrets to your hair." He brushed his hands through Chanyeol's hair.

"It's not enough till my eyes have memorised every minute detail of your body. It's not enough till I can fill your heart with my love to it's unfathomable ends. It's not enough till my lips taste the same as yours."

Baekhyun kisses him like sunlight on a cold winter morning; softly, soothingly, and erasing all his problems away. Chanyeol kisses back like a midnight storm, desperately trying to absorb every move Baekhyun makes within himself. Baekhyun sucks on his lower lip, making Chanyeol moan. Hands move beyond their authority, in each other's hairs, skin, everywhere.

When they break apart, a satisfied smirk slowly forms on Chanyeol's lips. "You know, I never really meant all that. No way, I'm leaving you without a fight, either. I just said it to get you all sappy and poetic."

Baekhyun gasps dramatically and places a hand on his chest. "Who are you and what have you done to my innocent little baby?"

"Turns out your baby was never innocent to begin with."

"Do you remember what you said when I'd asked you if you want to be taken in as my  _ special pet _ ?" 

Chanyeol knits his eyebrows in confusion. "I think I had said I don't wanna share my master. But how's that even relevant here?"

Baekhyun pats Chanyeol's head with a patronizing laugh. "Oh, my baby star, you're still as innocent as ever I see."

Chanyeol huffs and Baekhyun smiles at him adoringly. "Okay, but on a serious note, I want to tell you everything." Baekhyun says and Chanyeol nods. "But I don't know where to start."

"Okay. Start from since when have you known I was a Celenoid."

"Since our first date." Baekhyun says, pressing his lips together.

"The movies? But that was way after my dinner with Joohyun and from what I heard…"

"Our first date, as in, the lunch at Hotel Elysium."

"Oh." He has known for that long?

"And you didn't ask yet but I gotta confess, I've been pestering Joohyun ever since to get to know you better because I wanted to get to know you better. And we're pretty close so she did tell me stuff about you. Like how Girls Generation is your favourite kpop group and how you love strawberries." Baekhyun smiles sheepishly, scratching the back of his nape.

Chanyeol nods, thinking back to the random questions Joohyun kept asking him about himself.  _ So it was all for Baekhyun, huh? _

"How did you know? I don't remember saying anything suspicious during our lunch."

"Well, you didn't. Not for someone who doesn't already know everything about Celenoids. But, I do. So the moment you mentioned Korea Global University, I knew what you were. Joohyun had mentioned it enough times for me to know exactly what it meant"

There's a momentary silence as Chanyeol processes the information. "And then," Baekhyun continues, "you mentioned Seulgi. And I had heard so much about Seulgi from Joohyun. The moment you mentioned her name, I was sure that you were a Celenoid."

"How exactly do you know Joohyun so well?" Chanyeol asks, curious. Afterall, Celenoids did not really communicate with humans that much.

"Chanyeol you better brace yourself for another shocking revelation now. And please don't faint again, Seulgi would kill me."

"Baekhyun, stop joking and tell me."

Baekhyun takes a deep breath. "Okay, so, I know Joohyun so well because Joohyun is to me what Seulgi is to you."

"What's that even supposed to mean?"

"It means that Joohyun was the assistant of my conscious transfer receiving doctor." Baekhyun says, looking at Chanyeol warily, waiting for his reaction.

Chanyeol blinks. "Baekhyun, are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Baekhyun bits his lip and for once Chanyeol is too distracted to be turned on by it. "Nice to meet you, L-1127. I'm B-504."

_ Holy shit. _

Chanyeol stares at Baekhyun, unblinking, unmoving, unthinking. Baekhyun waits for a reaction but it never comes.

"Chanyeol, say something. You're scaring me."

"You-you-I-so you're-" Words fail Chanyeol and he just keeps frantically moving his hand up and down making nonsensical gestures and incoherent sounds.

"Okay, baby, why don't you try to calm down? Yeah?" Baekhyun places his hands on Chanyeol's shoulders. His touch immediately charges through Chanyeol's body like electricity through salt water and Chanyeol calms down. "Take deep breaths. In. Out. In. Out." Chanyeol wordlessly obliges. "You must want an explanation, right?" Chanyeol nods. "How about I explain and you listen, hmm?"

Baekhyun begins. "You must be thinking how can I be a singer with a whole background and parents and a brother when I'm a Celenoid, right?"

Chanyeol nods again.

"It was a special experiment. Covert even." Baekhyun says, looking at a distant nothingness, recalling his past. "They wanted to see if our kind had the capabilities to blend into the human surroundings well enough to become a part of their families."

Chanyeol frowns. What does that mean?

Understanding Chanyeol's confusion, Baekhyun asks. "You know how these regular host bodies are  _ manufactured,  _ right?"

Chanyeol nods again. He knew the basic process. They take human bodies that are relatively young and have died due to some natural or unnatural cause and fix it, cleanse it of its memories, occasionally even add some information, and store them in cryotubes till the right host comes along.

Celenoids usually don't like to talk much about it, since the idea of their host body having a life of its own before it died was rather unsettling.

"Well, the real Byun Baekhyun died in a road accident when he was fifteen. And our people got their hands on the body before the family could find out…"

People usually look down or look away when they are ashamed but Baekhyun looks straight into Chanyeol's eyes instead, letting him see through all his shame, his insecurities, his vulnerabilities, everything that makes him  _ human. _

"I volunteered for the experiment. The plan was for me to live with them for five years inconspicuously, and then disappear one day. But two years down the road, I just couldn't anymore . I fell in love with my family. And I told them everything."

Baekhyun humorlessly chuckles. "I still remember that day. They thought I had gone crazy at first. But they believed me soon, because deep down they knew. I was nothing like their Baekhyun. They kicked me out at first. Mom was a crying mess and Baekbeom punched me in the face. But a month or so later, they welcomed me back. They forgave me for what I did to them and said that somewhere along the way, they learnt to love me for me too." Glittering tears shone in Baekhyun's eyes, threatening to fall. Chanyeol gently wipes them away.

"Anyway, since then I became a kpop trainee. Because I knew I needed to be in the public's eye to keep myself safe. Our government… isn't exactly fond of rebels. The experiment got shut down, obviously. I was erased from all files. With me, they realised that Celenoids were mostly too compassionate creatures to do something so… so cruel. And, it's been this way ever since." Baekhyun smiles at him a rueful smile, eyes burning in flames of anguish and melancholy.

"So, you decided to  _ settle _ on earth? Even though it's against our very nature?" Chanyeol asks, not a hint of judgement in his voice. All he seeks is understanding.

"What is our nature really? Is it not what our hearts want? As Celenoids, ever since we come into existence, we are told to travel. So, without any questions, we travel. And if anyone dares question, they are shown the law, called traitors, and shunned from our community. That way, no one ever dares asks questions anymore."

"Why? Why would they want that from us?"

"Control, for starters. If you have friends, and a family, you get your own priorities, ones that do not match with that of the government. And they wouldn't want that. Also, immortality. We are immortal as long as we keep switching host bodies. Once we decide to grow old in a host body, the Celenoid dies with the demise of the body. Imagine how much lesser manpower the government would have if Celenoids started to settle."

"So that's what this is all about? Power?"

"Everything in the Universe is about power Chanyeol. Why are Celenoids the superior creatures? Why do almost every host planet welcome us with open arms? Because we bring power with us. Science, technology, medicine. And would Celenoids have that if the current system crumbled even the slightest?"

Chanyeol had never thought about all this. He was too simple a soul to spend time analysing government agendas and conspiracy theories. But everything Baekhyun said made sense. And it made him angry. Because now, his separation from Baekhyun, Seulgi and Joohyun's sacrifice of the chance at love, and such tragic stories of thousands on Celenoids that he didn't even know of felt so terribly unfair.

"This isn't fair." Is all he says.

"It isn't. But there's nothing we can do about it. We can't change the system, Chanyeol, no matter how much it deserves to be changed. But what we can do is find a way to get you out of it."

But Chanyeol didn't want that. He didn't want to selfishly detach himself from his cruel, manipulative community just to have every other Celenoid suffer. 

"I know what you're thinking. You're too kind, Chanyeol. But there really isn't anything two or four individuals can do. If there was, we'd be doing it right now." Baekhyun presses light kisses against Chanyeol's palms. "So what we're gonna do instead is fight for you. And we  _ will  _ win."

"I love you." Chanyeol whispers, a sudden warmth filling him. Even with everything feeling suddenly questionable, this is the one thing he feels sure about.

"I love you too." Baekhyun leans forward to press his lips against Chanyeol's forehead. "Now rest. Meanwhile me, Dae and Joo are gonna brainstorm a way to keep you here."

"How does Jongdae fit into this whole equation? Is he-"

"No." Baekhyun laughs. "Jongdae is as human as humans can get, unfortunately. And by that I mean, he's a pain in the a- in my head."

"Oh. So how did he come to know?" Chanyeol asks, blinking innocently. 

"Jongdae is my school friend. He transferred into our high school after I took over this body."

"So, he's someone who became your friend rather than a friend of the original Baekhyun." Chanyeol states. It never fails to amaze Baekhyun how Chanyeol can have a childlike innocence and such an incredible sense of maturity at the same time. He supposes, it is nothing but a pure blend of Chanyeol's innate personality and centuries of experience.

"Yeah, he was  _ my  _ friend. And so, I decided to tell him."

"How did he react?"

"He believed me at once. Turns out his dad was a government operative whose job was maintaining the diplomatic relations between Celenoids and humans. So he and his family are one of the few people who know about the existence of Celenoids."

"Wow."

"Yeah, wow." 

They sit in silence for a while, fingers tangling and disentangling in a playful rhythm. "You know, you're taking this way better than I expected you to."

"You specifically asked me not to faint, so…" Chanyeol shrugs.

"Already so obedient to your master." Baekhyun pats Chanyeol's head, teasingly causing Chanyeol to whine loudly.

A knock on the door interrupts their moment. "Come in." Chanyeol says, a little irked.

Three heads pop in, one after another. While Jongdae and Joohyun take seats, Seulgi rushes to give Chanyeol a hug. "You're up."

"I am. Now stop choking me."

Seulgi hits him lightly. "Jerk." She mutters, glaring at him. "How do you feel?"

"Overwhelmed, I suppose. Baekhyun told me everything." He says, eyes searching for Baekhyun again. When their eyes meet, Baekhyun gives him a small smile.

"And you're okay with everything?" Seulgi asks, carefully picking her words.

"I am. Surprised, for sure, but okay."

"Well, I'm your friend. And I'm happy with whatever makes you happy." Seulgi smiles widely at him, her eyes crinkling.

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way," Jongdae interrupts, "time's ticking. We need to think of something and we need to do it fast."

Collective sighs resonate through the room, none of them knowing what to do. Chanyeol's eyes remain fixed upon Baekhyun, as he watches the latter slowly ball his fists in anger. "You know what, I'll deal with this. I'll tell them they can't send Chanyeol back. We'll see what happens after that."

"Right, because recklessness is the magical solution to all our problems." Jongdae rolls his eyes, earning a glare from Baekhyun.

"Well, it's a start. And it worked for me, why wouldn't it work for Chanyeol?"

"It didn't 'work' for you, Baek. We all had to put our blood, sweat and tears to make it work. Threatening the Universe's most powerful regime is not exactly the walk in the park you're making it sound like it is." Joohyun adds.

"Are you both on my side or not?" Baekhyun asks, frustrated.

"We are, Baekhyun." Joohyun says. "Which is why we're telling you that marching into the centre and demanding to get Chanyeol excused from the system is not the best idea."

"I wouldn't be demanding, I'd be threatening." Baekhyun folds his hands over his chest stubbornly. Chanyeol notices a throbbing vein pop up on his neck. "If someone points a gun at your head, you point a bigger gun at their head."

"I'm not sure they will appreciate you pointing the same gun at their head everytime you want something. We did it at your time, if we do it again for Chanyeol, what's stopping us from doing it again and again? They won't buy it, Baekhyun, be realistic." Jongdae tries to reason.

"Well, I don't care. The moment Chanyeol leaves, I'm outing them to the world. They should know by now that I'm not afraid of cracking my skull open for the world to see what's inside."

"And when you do that, they're still gonna cover it up. Maybe they'll make you disappear and tell the world you went crazy. And I bet the human government will help them. They prefer us staying here in anonymity just as much. Your exposé would never work." Seulgi says, sighing.

"But…." Chanyeol finally speaks up, thinking. "Does it need to work?"

Four pairs of eyes look straight at him. "What do you mean by that?" Jongdae asks.

"I mean that if someone threatens to start a fire, would you wait for them to light up a flame so that you can pour a bucket of water on it? Or take away their matchstick?"

"That…. makes sense." Jongdae agrees, deep in thought. "I mean, we live in a digital age now. Once the news is out, it's out. And they would rather have people living blissfully unaware of the walking monster among us, no offence guys, than have a million conspiracy theory hunters on their trail."

"And if you both sign something along the lines of a confidentiality agreement, they might just let you off. Because they know you'll never leave the planet, so an earthly contract like that would bind you, and they get to keep their secret safe at the cost of one Celenoid, like a drop from an ocean." Joohyun adds. The atmosphere of the room slowly turns brighter with every word.

"Wow, this. This could really work." Seulgi adds, slowly, almost in disbelief as the amazement slowly settles in. All five of them have an uncontrollable grin adorned their faces at this point.

"That only leaves one question then." Baekhyun says, and everyone looks at him quizzically. A devilish smile appears on his face. "So where's champagne?"

***

**Two Years Later**

"Baby, stop crying. I hate to see you like this." Baekhyun tries to coax Chanyeol, who's currently sitting on their bed, throwing a fit.

They live together now, in their own penthouse apartment at one of the poshest buildings in Seoul and so in love. Over the past two years, Chanyeol seemed to have developed his own sense of music and now works as a struggling music producer while Baekhyun's career is still peaking new levels.

"Why should I? My best friend left earth and you're going to some stupid fansign instead of cuddling me when I'm sad." Chanyeol accuses between sniffles. He wraps his hands around his knees and buries his face.

"Seulgi left a month ago, you can't possibly be upset over that to cry like this." Baekhyun says, sighing at Chanyeol's tantrum and yet eyes full of adoration. He was a man in love,  _ a whipped man in love. _

"Well what do you know Mr. Triple Million Seller? I miss my best friend."

"She made her choice, Chanyeol. And she and Joo are happy together. Travelling the Universe in search to collect more people and finally overthrow the government. You should be proud of how brave she is."

"I am." Chanyeol says, a smile- a prideful smile- slowly spreading on his face. "I'm sorry, I was just throwing a tantrum to get you to stay home. I wanna spend time with you."

Chanyeol pouts and Baekhyun immediately kisses it out of instinctual urges. "That's why I asked you to come along, baby. It'd be fun."

"Oh, no thanks." Chanyeol shakes his head. "Your fans  _ hate _ it."

"No they don't! Remember that girl who got me more strawberries than I could eat at a fansign because she wanted me to share it with you?"

Chanyeol frowns. "One in a million. Most of them give me the evil eye because I stole their man. Your fans are scary."

Baekhyun laughs. It's Chanyeol's favourite sound. "My sensitive little baby."

"I'm not sensitive!" The protest is immediate and accompanied by 'The Pout'.

"That's not what I saw last night." Baekhyun winks suggestively.

"Baekhyun!" Chanyeol whines, pulling covers over his head. "You know what? Go away, you cocky coconut!"

Baekhyun laughs again, his voice ringing in their bedroom. The lavender walls seemed to have absorbed the happiness of the couple living there and reflect it right back.

Slowly, teasingly, Baekhyun peels the covers off. Chanyeol's face pops out with a frown. "Go away!"

"Okay, how about this? I finish the fansign early, and we can have movie night?" Baekhyun suggests. "Or we can go to the drive-in movie theatre that you love?"

Chanyeol gets up, excited. "Oh, can we watch sci-fi movies and pass comments on the misrepresentation of aliens again?"

"We can do that. But I heard they were replaying Iron Man, so I thought why not relive old memories? What say, baby?"

"I say I wanna relive my first kiss right here right now, and then later again, and again and again and ag-"

His words are cut off as a pair of lips capture his. Lips he is familiar with, lips which no longer hide or hesitate.

Lips that are meant only for him.

Baekhyun was right. If something was destined to happen, no power of the universe could stop it.

Chanyeol believes that now. He sees it every morning when he wakes up next to the man he can call his love. He hears it in every melody his angel sings. He feels it in every touch under the midnight moon.

Chanyeol believes it now. They were stars fated to align.

**Author's Note:**

> And that's all there is for now, thank you for reading and do leave behind a comment to let me know what you thought!


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